Friends
by TheRealSokka
Summary: When Aang finds that he needs a timeout from his struggles, he decides to visit his oldest friend in Omashu. There, Bumi reveals something about him that sends the young Avatar into quite the shock. Idiocy and drama ensue. Set 2 years after Sozin's Comet.
1. Prologue

Prologue

-The Avatar was flying to Omashu.

-Nothing special about that, he'd done it often enough in the past two years. After all, it was a grand, important city, not to mention the home of his oldest friend, the Mad Genius.

-Truth be told, he was the only reason the airbender was on his way there now. He needed a timeout. And who better to provide that than one of the oldest, cleverest, and, let's face it, mad, men on the planet.

-This trip was different from the previous ones though.

-First, he was alone. No Katara, no Toph, no Sokka. He'd even left Appa and Momo behind, only taking his glider with him.

-Second, he was in an unusual somber mood, so much so that his friends would have called it alien.

-Third, for the first time since Sozin's Comet, he didn't know what to _do_ when he arrived at his destination.

-He just knew that he needed advice, or a distraction or anything, to make him feel better, and Bumi was the first person to come to his mind. Usually, his younger friends would have been the obvious choice, but in this case that would have been beyond awkward.

-Aang sighed as he watched the city's outer walls pass beneath him. Not even the sight of the strange paranoid man, who always clutched his cabbages protectively when he saw him, managed to cheer him up.

-Naturally, he headed straight for the palace at the top of the circular city. The guards only bowed briefly when he flew by, the Avatar visiting their king was not an uncommon event.

-Somehow, though Aang wasn't sure how that was possible, Bumi seemed to have known of his coming and was waiting right outside the palace doors, dressed in one of his usual extravagant outfits. That sight _did_ manage to bring a small smile to his face.

-Without a word, Aang snapped his glider shut and hugged his friend in a firm embrace. Bumi returned it with a strengh that would have been surprising to anyone who didn't know that Bumi was hiding a well trained body under those loose robes. As it was, this was just what Aang needed.

-"Thanks, Bumi.", he said.

-"No problem at all, Aang", the King of Omashu returned, a familiar glint in his eyes.

-Aang collected himself, breathed out and said: "I need to talk to you. And - this might sound crazy-" Bumi chuckled at that, "but I think I need your advice.


	2. Chapter 1: Proposals

**This is my first fan fic of anything ever. After rewatching my favourite all-time show, I had some weird ideas that I needed to get out, and this is that. This may just be a few chapters, or develop into a longer story, depending on if the ideas keep coming.**

 **Disclaimer:**

 **As stated, this is my first time here, so it will be rough around the edges. If you have any constructive criticism, please tell me so, I will try to improve as I write. This is especially true since English isn't my first language, so apologies if some of this sounds a little stilted.**

 **I don't have an ending in mind for this story yet. If it does get longer than a few chapters, I may need to rewrite some of this stuff in order for it to make sense in the overall story.**

 **I can't promise to update regularly, due to real life and periods of no creativity that I tend to have.**

 **Also, even though most of Team Avatar is in this story, I will most likely focus on my four favourite characters, I can't help it.**

 **Lastly, I obviously (and to my great sadness) don't own any of these great characters, nor the amazing world they inhabit.**

Chapter 1: Proposals

-The two friends wandered through the halls of the palace, without any real destination, Bumi listening intently while Aang spilled his heart out.

-After listening to what Aang had to say, Bumi pondered for a moment, before answering: "I don't think this is as drastic as you make it sound. And even if it is...", he cackled, "don't you think I'm a little old to answer this kind of questions?"

-Aang already felt better just having talked about his situation, so he allowed himself a little smile: "Why not? Technically we are the same age, don't you think you could give me some buddy-to-buddy advice?"

-"Heh!", Bumi laughed, amused that his friend still brought that up. "If you put it like that, of course I can help you. My advice for you is..." he leaned closer, "to ask someone closer to your age!" He snorted and cackled and was just being so _Bumi_ that Aang could not help but laugh as well.

"Thanks, oh wise Grand Master!", he bowed, his nose almost touching the ground. Bumi, as was to be expected, bowed back in the same over-exaggerated manner.

The airbender grinned, just being with his old friend cracked him up, like it always had.

Still, he didn't really know what to do about his situation, so he was soon lost in his thoughts again.

Noticing the shift in his friend's mood, Bumi gracefully offered: "While I am obviously the wisest man in this part of the world..", - he didn't specify what he meant by that, knowing him it could have well been the entire Earth Kingdom - , "I do think you need someone younger to talk to..."

-Aang interrupted him: "I already told you, my friends are probably coming right behind me anyway, but I really don't want to talk to them about this, ok? It would just be really...uncomfortable. Actually, I'd prefer not to see them so soon, I think I need time to figure this out myself, so please don't bring that up again, ok?"

-"and thus", Bumi continued, ignoring Aangs outburst completely, "I would recommend talking to my children. They are...well, most of them are...ok, some of them...are actually pretty good listeners, believe it or not. Don't know how that happened, but who cares, might come in handy now." He frowned, considering. "Actually, now that I think about it, _their_ children are probably closer to your age...though I wouldn't confess anything to those blabbermouths if I were you!", he chuckled at the thought and turned to his friend again...

-...and only then realized that Aang had spent this entire monologue silently staring at him, mouth wide open.

-Not quite knowing what to make of that, Bumi just raised his eyebrows questioningly.

-Aang gaped at him. "I, um, well, I never thought you had children", he managed to say.

-"'Course I do.", Bumi replied casually, as if he had just confirmed the colour of his robes.

-The simple thought that Bumi had _grandchildren_ (who were probably older than he was) was just so strange and made Aang feel more than a little weird. Yet, at the same time, he was overcome by a rush of happyness for his old friend, so he quickly collected himself: "That's...wow, I mean, that's great! Why'd you never tell me?!"

-Bumi raised his eyebrows at him again. "I just did, didn't I?"

-The airbender was uncharactaristically lost for words for a moment, then: "Are they here in Omashu? Why did I never meet them? Are they earthbenders like you? HOW DID I NOT KNOW THIS?!"

-Bumi chuckled at this barrage of questions, but didn't bother answering. "You seem quite interested in my family, Aang." He grinned mischievously. "Bet you just want someone to call your bald head 'Uncle Aang', heh?". He let out one of his characteristic cackles.

-Aang flushed, and had a snarky reply already on his lips, but the thought of a bunch of little Bumis calling him 'Uncle' was so ludicrous and at the same time endearing, that he couldn't help but grin as well.

-"Man, I missed you", he stated as he walked beside his oldest friend. A thought came to his mind: "If they turned out anything like you, the world seems brighter already." He meant it. He couldn't remember a day with Bumi that hadn't been fun, and he had never been happier than when he met him again after all that time in the iceberg, still his querky, humorous self.

-"Thanks Aang, I tried my best", Bumi answered in an actually semi-serious tone - which was as close to serious as he ever got. However, the look he gave the little Avatar-kid walking next to him was one of sincere friendship. He studied him for a moment. "You know, I think I'll throw them a feast. They wouldn't say No to their favourite papa or grandpapa now, would they?" He saw Aang's face light up at that, clearly anticipating this event with one of the craziest (and funniest) families imaginable. "More so with the infamous airhead there himself.", Bumi smirked.

-"Infamous?" Aang glanced up at Bumi, remembering their adventures as children, some of which would certainly qualify as 'infamous'. "Just what did you tell them about me exactly? Please tell me you didn't..." he trailed off as he saw the self-satisfied smirk that covered his friend's face, indicating that he thought of the same unfortunate incident as the airbender just had. "You did.", he stated flatly, not knowing wether to curse or laugh. He sighed in resignation: " 'Airhead' won't be the worst name they'll call me, will it?"

-"Nope"

-Aangs resignation must have shown, because Bumi suddenly turned jovial.

-"Hey, look on the bright side!", Bumi called, smacking Aang across the back. "The girls in the bunch will throw themselves at the legendary airhead the second they see you!". He added, half amused, half scolding: "Maybe that will snap you out of that sinkhole you seem to be in right now."

-Aang frowned, not liking being reminded of THAT again. Besides, the thought of Bumi's female children and/or grandchildren 'throwing themselves at him' was more than a little unsettling. But he passed it off with a humorous remark, as he often did when something made him uncomfortable: "Do you already have candidates at hand, complete with the wedding ceremony prepared and everything?"

-Judging by the look on his friend's face, Aang _really_ shouldn't have said that, and he almost facepalmed at his own stupidity, as Bumi was clearly pondering on his question very seriously.

-"Well..." the old earthbender said,"now that you ask..."

-"No, don't bother! I was joking!"

-"...I do have some girls in mind for you", Bumi continued, completely unaware of the interruption. "Lemme see, there's Quela...hmmm no, lil' too old...although technically that argument doesn't work on you, now that I think about it..."

-"Bumi, leave it, I wasn't serious..."

-"...Maybe Xing - or wait, was it Jing - ", Bumi looked lost for a moment. "Whatever, the one from from Ba Sing Se, hmmm, maybe..."

-"Bumi, come _on_...". Aang was blushing at this point, not quite knowing how he had gotten himself into this situation.

-"...of course there's always that sandbender, come to think of it - no, not really, far too tall and dusty...although...", Bumi stopped to look at Aang again, measuring him head to tow, "you did grow quite a bit lately, maybe in a few months...let's keep that one as a backup, no?"

-" _Please_ , Bumi...!", Aang pleaded, now actually cursing his friend silently and seriously thinking about just taking his glider and leaving the one-sided conversation.

-But Bumi had already turned away from his friend's pleading eyes again, a mischievous grin on his face, and just continued with his list, completely unfazed: "...Harre from Kyoshi...Whats-her-name with the scars on the arm...?...no wait, shes already married, hm too bad...that blind Gaoling girl...no far too stubborn...maybe Kila...nope, still digging for that library...what about the one from...umm...don't know, actually, the one that uses earthbending for hands, you'd like her I think..."

-Bumi stopped mid-sentence, suddenly realizing that Aang wasnt' at his side anymore. Looking back, he saw the young airbender a few feet behind him, where he had stopped dead in his tracks, with his jaw somewhere on the floor. Bumi thought that he looked like he had just discovered that his friend was a pink platypus-bear. He had to fight to keep from laughing, but somehow he managed to just look at his friend curiously.

-Aang's thoughts were racing in his head, yet somehow they seemed to just circle in there, without being able to comprehend what he had just heard, much less arrive at any form of conclusion.

-After a few moments he managed a feeble "Wha...?" That didn't help. He tried again: "What did you...?"

-The third attempt was somewhat comprehensible:" Could you...ahum, ah r-repeat that?!"

-"All of that?", his friend grinned, but didn't seem to mind: "So, there's Quela, Jing - yea, sounds right..."

-"No, no!" Aang was feeling dizzy, something that did not happen very often, but he had to make sure he had misheard: "You said something a- about a blind..."

-"Hmm?" Bumi went through his mental list again and, arriving at the part in question, he repeated: "that blind Gaoling girl. But as I said, she's far too stubborn for..." Bumi stomped his foot on the ground and earthbended a rock pillar from the ground, just in time to catch a very shocked Avatar.


	3. Chapter 2: Just another day

Chapter 2: Just another day

-Meanwhile, about a day's ride away from Omashu, a bison was flying towards the city, on his back four passengers in varying states of concern.

-Leading the list in that regard was Katara, constantly either thinking about ways she could have put it gentler, or ways of making it up to Aang, or simply scolding herself for being an irresponsible idiot.

-Next was Suki, being her usual sympathetic self, and worrying in equal parts about Katara's anxiety and about Aang, of whom she only had an idea how he must be feeling.

-Toph lay relaxed in the saddle (though everybody on board knew that at least part of that was fake, since she had never been fully at home up in the air), being slightly angry at Katara, yet at the same time not really understanding what all the fuss was about, so she just waited for them to arrive and the situation to resolve itself.

-Lastly, there was Sokka, sitting on Appa's head, his eyes closing occasionally, since he had spent the last two days steering the bison. He didn't really know what exactly had happened between his friend and his sister, and he was not particularly worried about it either. Disagreements in their group were bound to happen - hell, they did happen more often than not - but they had always resolved them, why should this time be any different?

-They had made it remarkably far this day already - two whole hours of flight - before the inevitable question came from the back: "Are we there yet?"

-Sokka sighed, not even bothering to turn around: "Yes, Toph I can see the city already. Right now we are just circling for the fun of it, because I just really wanted to spent some more time with my big furry friend here." His sarcasm was somewhat dulled by the fact that he managed to yawn twice throughout that statement.

-A short silence, then: "Is it just me, or is he even more annoying than usual today?"

-"Nope, that's still his classic sarcasm state. I think. If he was feeling like being annoying, he would have already asked you to look for yourself."

-"Good point."

-Sokka, increasingly weary of this conversation, had to fight the urge to turn to his girlfriend and ask whose side she thought she was on. But in his state, Suki would almost certainly win whatever argument broke out after that, and he really didn't have the energy for this now.

-There was a suspiously long moment of peace and quiet, before: "How do you put up with that on a daily basis anyway?"

-Sokka could _feel_ Suki's smirk without needing to see it (so could Toph, probably, a tired thought crossed his mind).

-"I manage. Not gonna tell you how though, I think I would miss your little quibs.", she said, still adressing Toph. "Although...I think he is getting old. He doesn't even tease me about my fans twice a week nowadays."

-Screw it. Turning around, Sokka shot an accusing look at his girlfriend: " Hey, my sarcasm has never been healthier! Neither have my ears for that matter, so could you please not make remarks about me while I'm right here?!"

-" 'fraid not.", both girls answered simultaniously.

-Katara cracked a small smile at hearing this exchange, but her anxiety quickly returned, no matter how much she tried to shake it off. What if Aang just didn't want to see them (her, a treacherous part of her mind insisted)? What if they wouldn't be able to be friends after this? She didn't think that she could bear that. She did want him in her life, just...not so sudden. That's what it was, too sudden.

-She voiced only part of her concerns: "What if Aang doesn't want to see us?". She was genuinely afraid of that.

-Suki put an arm around her. "Hey, of course he's going to see us! It's not like we did something horrible to him. He's a kind kid, he's gonna understand", she said with conviction.

-"Yeah, Twinkles is unable to hold a grudge long, even if he wanted to.", Toph added. She stopped for a moment. "Maybe that's why it's so frustratingly hard to be cross with _him_ ", she said, more to herself.

-Suki looked at her curiously, but Katara smiled at both of them gratefully. She admitted to herself that she probably wouldn't be able to do this without them.

-But of course, there was also Sokka.

-Oblivious to the change in attitude behind him, he broke the moment by throwing another round of sarcasm over his shoulder: "Yeah, yeah, we'll see good old airhead soon enough. Then Katara can hug him to death, Toph can hug her sweet earth and Suki can twirl around with her fans in front of my face when i pass out from exhaustion. Oh, but don't mind me I'm just the driver!"

-He didn't see Katara's glare, directed at his back, pondering why exactly she had a brother like that.

-He didn't see Toph rolling her green eyes, not bothering to answer.

-He didn't see Suki's little grin as she mumbled to herself: "Third time. He's still got it."


	4. Chapter 3: Realization

**Chapter 3: Realization**

-Something cold hit Aang in the face, and he jerked up, recovering his consciousness, though not his coherent thoughts, in an instant. "Wha..?" he stammered, for the second time today.

-Bumi was standing over him with a giant bucket in his hands, having just emptied it's contents over the young airbender. "Rise and shine, o mighty Avatar", he cried while bowing mockingly low.

-Aang sat up, dazed and quite uncertain about what the hell had just happened.

 _-...blind girl..._

-He groaned, as his memory finally managed to catch up.

- _Toph..._

- _Relax, there is more than one blind girl in the world, idiot, you are reading far too much into things..._

- _Yeah, right, there are so many blind, earthbending, deathly stubborn girls about your age in the world, it's laughable you even thought that!_

-Aang furiously rubbed his temples. Great, now his own conscience was mocking him.

-"...slept well, I see." Bumi's voice sounded far off, yet ironically it provided some form of steadyness in all his crazy thoughts, so Aang tried to focus on that.

-"...don't think I've ever seen you faint like that", he heard, and "If I had known that girls are such a sensitive subject to you, I'd have brought it up a little gentler."

-That sounded so not like Bumi that Aang finally managed a reply, albeit a feeble one: "Really?"

-Bumi cackled and made a movement like he ruffled through Aang's non-existent hair. "Nah, just kidding, I'd have thrown you in room with them, with your arms and legs tied and watched the spectacle! Heh, heghee!", he giggled, remarkably managing to sound more insane than usual, which was quite an achievement. Without warning, he stopped suddenly and whirled around: "Heh, Han, are there any pretty girls in the palace that we could be throwing at the Avatar?"

-Only now did Aang notice the servant who was standing in the corner of the room, blending in with the surroundings. He looked remarkably unfazed by his king's antics, suggesting that he was quite a veteran in this house. Next to him, Aang noticed in dismay, stood another row of buckets filled with ice water.

-"I will check for the women of apropriate age at once." , he declared, nothing in his voice or facial expression suggesting that this was an at all unusual request.

-This exchange, though not at all helpful, at least bought Aang some time to collect his thoughts, which was long overdue. By the time Han had left the room and Bumi turned back to him, he had managed to stand up and was ready to ask his many, _many_ questions with a slightly cooler state of mind. He calmly opened his mouth:

-" _Toph is you granddaughter?! HOW?! I mean, why, I mean when did..?!"_ Yeah, that was a good start! He tried again, but the words just continued to rush out of him: "How's that even possible..but her parents are so _not_..wait, so that's why..I was with her all that time and I didn't even..wait a second..you met her as part of our team..you _knew_ I knew her..you..YOU NEVER THOUGHT THAT WORTH MENTIONING?!"

-Bumi shrugged nonchalantly: "No"

-Aang could only gape at him, completely flabbergasted.

-"Guess that means no invitation for her, then.", Bumi sighed, sounding quite sad, "since she's coming with the rest of your group anyway. And I _so_ wanted to send her a nice little giant stone slab for her to read. Ahw well, still 43 invitations to go", he cackled, suddenly back to his humorous self.

-Aang could only slowly absorb what Bumi had just said. "Wait, wait...she is coming _here_? Why..How do you even know that?"

-Now Bumi looked a little irritated. "You told me a few hours ago, remember? _My friends are probably coming right behind me._ And some crap about not wanting to see them." He frowned, stepped closer and knocked on his friend's forehead a few times: "Has old age gotten to you already? _I_ have a better memory than you!"

-Aang felt like facepalming again, and this time he followed through on the reflex. It stung, but at least it helped clear his head for a moment.

- _Okay! His friends were coming, no big deal. Toph was coming, nothing wrong with that. Why would he even think that, it had happened often enough..._

-But Toph wasn't related to Bumi back then...

-Just the thought of that made him feel dizzy again. He really needed to order his thoughts...

- _Meditation. Right._

-"I- I think i need some time alone, maybe I could just..go..somewhere quiet?", he stammered, well aware of how panicked and weird he had to sound.

-To his great surprise, Bumi just shrugged and said : "Sure, whatever makes you happy. But you _will_ help me with those invitations later!"

-"Okay", Aang coughed, and was already out of the room, sprinting down the hallway as fast as he could. Still he couldn't help but think that that had been too easy...

:::::::::::

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-Back in the small chamber, Bumi finally let out the laughter he had been holding the entire time. It resounded in the halls, the walls shaking with his unintentional bending. Luckily, Aang was already out of earshot.

-Han poked his head in, patiently waiting for his king's laughing fit to end. He briefly wondered what had happened, since it had been a while since he had seen the old man this enthusiastic, but he quickly pushed that thought to the back of his mind, remembering that he had witnessed far stranger things in his 40 years in this palace.

-When the laughter finally began to die down, Han reported: "There are no pretty girls in the palace at present, but I can invite some from the city, if that is Your wish."

-Still wiping tears from his eyes, Bumi turned to his servant. "Yes, please do.", he giggled. "And why don't you set up dinner, we'll have guests tonight."A mischievous look entered his eyes. _Oh, and what a fun dinner that would be!_


	5. Chapter 4: Arrival

**Chapter 4: Arrival**

-The palace guards spyed the white speck in the sky early on and immediately went to inform their king of his guests' arrival. Naturally, Bumi went out to greet them personally, as he did with most visitors that he deemed important. And these ones certainly were ( _even though they don't know yet_ , he thought to himself with a chuckle).

-No sooner had the bison landed in the courtyard and let out a loud yawn, than the old man witnessed important guest No.1 slowly slide down the top of it's head and crash unceremoniously to the floor. Bumi briefly pondered to send for the remaining ice buckets that were still standing unused in his chambers, but then guest No.2 jumped down from the saddle and proceeded to wave her fans at the unconscious driver, so he decided that the situation was probably under control, before he heard: "Oh, quit it fangirl, you're spoiling him!", and a rock pillar jumped up beneath the boys back and he flew a few feet in the air before crashing again, this time on his face.

-Bumi couldn't help but smile to himself as he saw the blind girl jump out of the saddle, completely ignoring the muffled curses from the bruised water tribe warrior, who seemed to be at least conscious enough to know who was responsible for his misery.

-"Stop bullying my brother Toph, we talked about this!", he heard next, as the girl who was speaking slowly stretched herself. "Besides, what do you want these people to think of us..." she trailed off, apparently remembering _who_ exactly was greeting them, and, looking directly at Bumi, she sighed: "Nevermind."

- _Why the hell aren't these guys visiting more often?_ , Bumi thought, finding himself quite entertained with this entrance.

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-"So, were is he?", Toph asked bluntly, after the greeting ceremony was finally completed.

-"Who?". The old king wasn't even looking at her, choosing instead to inspect Sokka, who had drifted off again halfway through the greetings.

-"Aang", Suki replied hastily, trying to get the attention of the strange old guy who was currently only inches away from her boyfriends face, which she found slightly disturbing. She had only seen the King of Omashu once before, and hadn't exchanged a word with him. But she had heard stories about him, mostly from her friends, who desribed him as 'positively insane'. At the moment, Suki was unsure wether she agreed with that assessment. "He said he wanted to go to Omashu, so we figured that he was probably in Your palace."

-"Did he now?", Bumi said, pulling Sokkas eyelids up and checking his pupils. "Looks fine", he commented, and let the boys head slump back down. "Well, can't say I have seen him recently..."

-"Oh come on you crazy old coot!" Toph stomped her foot on the ground to get a better visual. "I can feel Twinkle Toes' lofty little feet all the way from here, which you know, so skip the bullshit and let us to him, alright?!"

-Bumi looked down at the little girl with a frown on his face. Suki gaped at her friend, even Katara glanced at Bumi worriedly. She knew from experience that the old man was unpredictable as it was, and Toph's disrespect could easily get them into trouble.

-"Well, well,", Bumi finally replied, "first you call me old, and then you call him 'Twinkle Toes'? That's not very nice." He scowled: " _I_ should have come up with that nickname a long time ago, and you just casually toss it out there and beat me to it!" He laughed suddenly. "Twinkle Toes! Now that's a good one! I just came up with 'Fainty Foot' this morning, but this is much better! You just earned yourself the seat of honour at my dinner table!" With that, he slapped her across the back affectionately.

-Katara and Suki breathed out a sigh of relief, while Toph grinned at the crazy old man. "You are completely insane!", she laughed, punching him in the shoulder.

-"Thank you!"

-Katara stepped forward. "Can we see Aang?". As much as she liked Bumi, she really needed to talk to her friend, sooner rather than later _. He is probably thinking god-knows-what about me, I need to straighten this out, now._ Toph was right, he was never angry at someone for long, but that meant that he was probably blaming himself for this, which was just unfair. She needed to apologize.

-Bumi turned to her. "Sure. Third floor, second door on the left.", he declared, completely neglecting that he had denied Aang's presence only moments ago.

-Katara nodded thankfully, already heading in the given direction, Toph close behind.

-"You guys go ahead, I'm gonna drop our driver off somewhere", Suki called after them, putting Sokkas arm over her shoulder to steady him. "Maybe he'll come back to the living in time to say hello to Aang as well", she added hopefully.

-"Oh, no worries, he'll be up and running in time for dinner at the latest.", Toph grinned over her shoulder. "You know he never skips a meal, and Bumi's dinners are fantastic."

-"Riight", Suki mumbled to herself, shooting a suspicious glance at the old king's back, trying and failing to imagine what a dinner with this guy could look like.

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-Katara seemed a little hectic, striding through the corridors and nervously fingering her hair-loopies. Toph, meanwhile, chose to fall behind a little. After all, Sugar Queen would probably want a little time alone with her boyfriend, and Toph was in no mood to hear the mushy _'I missed you so'_ talk.

- _Besides, Twinkles has never been in a bad mood for long, he's just too perky for that._ She smiled at the memory. _Yeah, he hardly needs emotional assistance, least of all from me._


	6. Chapter 5: Thoughts

**This is the part I've been dreading. The next couple of chapters are most likely gonna be pretty serious, and I don't know how well I can communicate that. I feel more at home writing comedy, so let's hope that this isn't too bad. Again, if you have any suggestions how I can improve, please tell me so. It's very much appreciated, especially for this part.**

 **...**

 **Chapter 5: Thoughts**

-Aang sat cross-legged on the floor, evidently deep in meditation.

-Only that he wasn't.

-He could not muster his usual calmness to meditate. His thoughts still raced around Toph, trying to remember if she had ever hinted at being related to the King of Omashu, or shown any other indications in the way she talked, earthbended or laughed.

- _It kind of makes sense_ , he thought, _the two most powerful earthbenders in the world coming from the same family isn't so far-fetched._ But then again, Toph had never shown hints of Bumi's unhinged personality. Sure, she could be impulsive, and she had a sense of humor that one had to get used to, but usually she was completely in control of her actions and feelings, seldomly letting anything of what was going on inside her shine through. _But Bumi's is pretty much unique, why should his children or grandchildren take after him?_ He thought of Toph's parents (which one was Bumi's child, he wondered), and of how serious and distant they had always seemed to him. Even when he had acompanied Toph on her trip back home to reconcile with them, they had acted that way. Sure, they were relieved to see their daughter again, but they had soon started to treat her just like they had before she ran away. It was as if they refused to see that their daughter had changed in any way. _Bumi would have embraced her and they would have laughed together about her adventures_ , he couldn't help but think.

-Aang tried to combine his image of Toph with how he imagined Bumi's children looking and acting, unsuccessfully. It was weird thinking about his friend this way. He groaned and pressed his hands to his eyes, trying to get a grip on his frantic thoughts.

- _How long do we know each other? Why hasn't she ever told me...?_

- _This doesn't get you anywhere,_ his conscience interrupted. _Why are you even so upset about this?_

- _Because neither of them told me, because they somehow thought I wouldn't need to know,_ he answered, feeling a little hurt. He could kind of understand Bumi, the old man hadn't thought anything of it, but he would have thought that Toph trusted him enough to tell him...

- _Oh, stop it! Neither of them meant you ill by not telling you, it's their business after all. Quit acting so childish. Is there any problem about them being family?_

-He stopped at that thought: He couldn't think of anything. If anything, two of his best friends being family was great news, he loved Bumi, and if Toph _did_ inherit some of his qualities, all the better.

- _So, does this change anything about how you feel for Toph?_

 _-No._

-The answer surprised him, but it was the truth. Toph was still the same, Aang realized, her being descendant from Bumi didn't define her, her personality and her actions did. And for that, he still loved her as much as ever. Suddenly, Aang's confusion gave way to happiness for his friend to have such a great grandfather, and for Bumi to be gifted with such a great granddaughter.

-He felt tears well in his eyes when he thought about them practicing earthbending together, or talking together...

-He finally relaxed, breathing out calmly, and resumed his meditation. As he thought about his friends, a smile stole on his face.

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-When Aang opened his eyes again, it was already early in the evening. He had meditated for hours. Standing up and stretching, he laughed at how at peace he felt now, when only hours before he had been a bundle of nerves who couldn't handle a discovery about his best friends.

-Suddenly, he couldn't wait to get back to Bumi and ask him about Toph and the rest of his family. His shock about their existence had been replaced by sheer curiosity. _And he is probably still waiting for me to help him with those invitations,_ he remembered, and at that moment, there was nothing he wanted to do more than that.

-Enthusiastically, he stomped his foot on the ground to see where Bumi was at the moment. He knew that his seismic sense was still lacking compared to Toph's, but if was usually enough for him to determine where everyone was.

-As was the case now. Only, Aang didn't get a chance to look for Bumi, because he immediately got distracted by two very distinct pair of feet. Two that he had not expected so soon. One was definitely Toph, her small, heavy steps were unmistakable, as was the way the earth reacted to them. It always felt like an avalanche was coming. The other felt hastier, a little less regular in it's pattern, yet it also had a kind of _fluidity_ to it...

-It took Aang a little longer to figure out that that was Katara coming his way, and, more importantly, that she was only _two corners away from him._

-His panic from earlier returned in an instant; being so distracted by Bumi's revelation about Toph, he had completely forgotten why he had ended up here in the first place. He hadn't even made up his mind how he felt about Katara yet, much less had he planned something to say to her, he was just completely unprepared. His eyes shot to the doorway. _I can't face both of them right now_! His thoughts raced: _if I run, there is no way they won't see me, dammit why did I leave my glider, why couldn't Appa fly a little slower, how do I...dammit!_ Panicking, he looked around for some kind of escape...


	7. Chapter 6: Hurt

Chapter 6: Hurt

-Toph could feel Aang's heartbeat clearly. One moment, it was calm and steady, as usual. The next, it suddenly doubled in speed, it looked like he was about to have a heartattack.

- _What the - ,_ Toph thought, stopping in confusion. Then, she raced down the corridor, using the earth to enhance her speed. _Aang must be hurt_ ,was all she could think, she had never felt him in such a state of panic before. She couldn't imagine what could have caused that, but whatever it was, it would have to deal with _her_ soon.

-Suddenly, as she turned a corner, Aang's vibrations turned even stranger, though his heartbeat was still the same, through the roof. Toph frowned, confused. _What does he..?_

 _-_ She turned another corner - and suddenly bumped into Katara, who was walking the other way. The older girl cried in surprise as the two of them went tumbling to the ground.

-"Toph, can't you watch where you...!", she began, then flushed and caught herself. "Sorry", she mumbled.

-Toph sat up, dazed. She actually hadn't felt Katara, she was so focused on Aang...

-"Where is he, what happened?!", she cried out, ignoring the fact that she probably sounded just as panicked as Aang felt.

-Katara stared at her in confusion. "What do you mean, why are you so worked up?", she asked. She couldn't remember ever seeing the blind girl this beside herself. Without answering, Toph lept back to her feet and continued to run towards the heartbeat, a very puzzled Katara behind her. "Toph!", she shouted, "Aang's not there! What are you...", she almost bumped into Toph, who had suddenly stopped in the doorway to where Bumi had claimed Aang was.

-"He's not here.", Katara panted, more than a little irritated, "Bumi must be laughing his ass off, he's such a kid! I'm gonna have to have a serious talk with him!". She looked down at Toph. "And what's the matter with _you_? First you fall behind and leave me alone to face Aang, and seem not to care to see him, and then you suddenly run me over to get to him? What happened?"

-Toph was still trying to make sense of what she felt. The room in front of her was a balcony, overlooking the left side of the palace. And Aang was _there_ , just a few feet in front of them, yet it felt like he wasn't on the same level as they were, which didn't make any sense. But his heartrate had finally slowed down, so he probably wasn't in danger anymore. And there was no visible threat anywhere, so Toph's panic disolved a little. It was replaced with confusion and a sudden vicious anger at Aang. _What is he doing...?_

-"Toph? Are you alright?". Katara sounded very worried now, and Toph suddenly realized how weird her behaviour must have looked to someone without her sense of vibrations. She blushed in embarrassment, which only made her more angry, so she blurted out: "I am perfectly fine! Besides, didn't you want to go beat up Bumi for teasing you about your boyfriend, Sugar Queen? Or do you need my help for that, too?"

-Katara stared at her, now flushing angrily herself. "Fine! I'll do that, and then we are gonna talk about what the hell has gotten into you!", she exclaimed, turning around and walking away from the infuriating girl as fast as she could.

-"If you say so!", Toph called after her, although she already felt faintly bad about her outburst. She turned back to the balcony. _Alright, what is happening here..._

:::::::::::::::::::::

:::::::::::::::::::::

-Aang was relieved when he felt Katara's footsteps finally receeding. But he couldn't help but feel guilty, because he could clearly sense how upset she was. So was the second presence above him for that matter. He didn't know where this person had come from, but he or she seemed vaguely familiar...

-Before he could finish that thought, he was suddenly pulled upward, errupting out of the floor of the balcony in a cloud of dust, the airbubble which he had surrounded himself with bursting with a loud bang. Before he could comprehend what had happened, he felt a hard blow to his right cheek and tumbled to the ground.

-"WHAT THE HELL are you doing, Aang?!", Toph shouted at him, only barely refraining from hitting him a second time. She couldn't fathom why he would give her such a heart attack, or why in the world he was hiding from them.

-Aang was starting to get used to this feeling of the world spinning around him. He looked up at Toph, failing to focus properly, but when he tried to feel the vibrations again, it didn't feel like that was his calm earthbending teacher standing there at all. Puzzled, he realized what she had asked and tried to form an answer, but Toph didn't even give him the chance.

-"You almost gave me a heartattack, you jerk! Not enough that you run off on us, no, you keep hiding from us, and then you seem to be in mortal danger for no reason, and you don't even think about what I am going through here and what...what...WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"

-Aang could only blink at Toph, too shocked to say anything. He was genuinely afraid of her right now, he had never seen her so angry. _Did this really affect her that much?_

-He stammered: "I, well, uh, I wanted to be...left alone?" He saw an unreadable expression pass across Toph's face and added: "I - I didn't know you cared so much..."

-WHAM! Now his left cheek was stinging, too. Toph was breathing heavily, fury in her sightless eyes. "Argh! You are impossible! Why did we even come after you when you don't care in the slightest!" With that, she turned on her heels and stormed to the door.

-Aang shook his head frantically and jumped up to block her path. "Toph, wait!", he cried, only narrowly avoiding a third strike, "You don't understand! I do care! I just panicked, okay? I _do_ want to see you, but it was all just too much, and...". He stopped, noticing that Toph was trembling. _Is she..?_ Before he could stop himself, he took a step towards her and embraced her firmly. _What am I doing?,_ he thought, bracing himself for another hit. But Toph just hugged him back fiercely, shaking with sobs, her head at his shoulder. Aang held her, wishing to comfort her, but it felt very weird. This was _Toph_ after all...

-Suddenly, she pushed him off, sending him stumbling against the wall. He looked at her, unsure what had just happened.

-Toph was confused. _What just happened? Why did I get so emotional and...whimpy? I'm angry with him, why do I hug him? Why am I even so angry at him, why do I even care? And why does he not stop_ looking _at me?!_

-Toph slid down the wall and buried her face in her hands, trying to make sense of the situation. Aang, meanwhile, was utterly confused. He didn't know how to deal with this Toph, with her being so... _vulnerable_ all of a sudden. He made a few tentative steps towards her, and wanted to put a comforting hand on her shoulder, as he would have done with Katara, but then she looked up at him, and the look in her eyes made him quickly reconsider.

-"Just so that we're clear, Twinkle Toes: This never happened!" She managed to keep her voice steady when she said that. "Katara was worried sick for you, and you are still too much of a coward to face her, apparently", she continued, building her walls back up, "either that, or you really _don't_ care about her, in which case, you are not just a whimp, but a liar, so as long as I don't know which you are, I am done talking to you." Her voice turned cold at the last part.

-Aang looked at her with a mix of disbelief and hurt, but he couldn't say anything, choking on something bitter in his throat.

-She turned around, half expecting him to follow her again, but she could feel him just standing there, looking after her. She was aware that she had probably hurt him, and she wanted to turn around and tell him she didn't mean it. But she couldn't do that. If she did, she'd turn whimpy again, and she needed to control herself now. So she walked on, seemingly unfazed by the sad look that she could practically _feel_ on her back. As soon as she turned around the corner, she started running, needing as much distance as possible between them.


	8. Chapter 7: Confrontation

**So, yeah, this chapter has turned out to be very ambiguous in it's tone, but I really didn't want to split this into two. Then again, the show had this ambiguity (hope that's the word) in most episodes as well, so I hope the shifts here are not too off-putting.**

 **Besides, I hated writing these characters miserable, so I needed a little Bumi crazyness in there. ;)**

 **...**

 **Chapter 7: Confrontation**

-Bumi was in his study, busy writing a letter to his granddaughter Keera, when he heard someone storm into the room, puffing angrily, apparently ignoring the sign that he had posted outside.

-Sighing, Bumi dropped his quill and looked up at the angry girl in front of him. He hoped that she at least had an interesting reason for interrupting him. Lately, troublemakers had been awfully uncreative. But the girl wasn't saying anything yet, just glaring at him. Not off to a good start there.

-Finally: "You think you are awfully funny, don't you?!"

-Bumi shrugged. "Yes", he answered honestly.

-Suddenly, the inkpot fell over, the fluid running over Bumi's half-finished letter. He sighed again, he had been quite proud of this invitation. Looking up, he saw that the girl was still grimacing at him, she looked in no mood to leave him to his writing anytime soon. So he decided to at least give her a chance to explain herself: "And what exactly has my inkpot done to you young lady, if I may ask? By the looks of you, he must have kissed your boyfriend right in front of your face!"

-Katara was satisfied to hear that she apparently looked as angry as she felt. "Actually, no", she seethed, making it quite clear that she was not up for joking at the moment, "He just told me to look for my friend, whom I haven't seen in days, in a place where he knew he wouldn't be! And he apparently thought that that was a hilarious ploy." With that, she raised her hand apruptly, and the ink spread to the as of yet untouched pieces of paper on the desk. She was faintly aware that she acted much more childish than usual, but Bumi tended to have this affect on her. He was just infuriating. _I really hoped he would at least be reasonable when Aang was concerned, but apparently I overestimated him._ Well, she wouldn't make that mistake a second time. "If you won't tell me where he is, that's fine", she said, clearly not meaning it, "but then I'll have to fill my spare time with something else, and I think this study is a very nice place to be." Even as she said that, the beautiful flowers on the desk and the shelves started to dry up, the water draining from them and condensing in a small cloud above Bumi's head. Then it started to rain all over his desk.

-Bumi looked up at the cloud with mild interest, even in his palace, this was an uncommon event. _Anyway, back to business._ "So", he stated, unfazed by the raindrops hitting his face, "Noone dead, no vulcano beneath the city, never even _mentioned_ Flopsy, and, obviously, no arrow." He shook his head sadly. "You'd think people would learn to read sooner or later..."

-Katara just stared at Bumi, unable to comprehend what she had heard. She knew by now that he was weird, but what he had just said made absolutely no sense, even by his standards. _Now he is just mocking me,_ she thought, her anger flaring up again. _Why am I even here, this is a waste of time._ She would need to find Aang on her own. But she couldn't just let Bumi get away with this, either. While the king raised his hand, apparently about to say something, she flung her arms towards him in a fluid motion. All the water in the room suddenly rushed towards Bumi, and froze around him, trapping everything but his head in a solid block of ice. Katara grinned at the surprised old man, and, with an unparalleled satisfaction, moved towards the door.

-Then, without warning, something heavy hit her back, and she went flying, right into the door, which opened at the impact.

::::::::::::

::::::::::::

- _What the hell is wrong with me?!_

-Aang didn't know how many times he had asked himself that question in the last few minutes since Toph had left him on the balcony. Objectively, he knew the answer; Toph had spelled it out for him after all: He was a whimp. A coward. There was no other explanation for why his first reaction was to flee, when a talk with his maybe-girlfriend was around the corner. He knew that they had to talk eventually, so why had he behaved so idiotic?

-But that was not really was the question was about.

- _I do care for them. I do!,_ he insisted, _what did I do to make her think I didn't...?_ It hurt that Toph would think that of him. Maybe more so than it would have, if it had been anyone else accusing him of not caring. _She knows what that's like. People not caring about you. She can tell... But she has to know that I care, she has to..._ He had made her a silent promise after she had fled her parents, that she would never have to feel like that again while she was part of their group.

-And he had thought that she didn't. Toph had always seemed confident and happy when she was with them. _Exept a few moments ago._ He couldn't comprehend why his words had affected her so much. He certainly hadn't meant anything by it!

- _But she seemed so vulnerable and...shattered...how could I...?... What the hell is wrong with me?!_

-Aang had wanted to run after her and convince her that he hadn't meant it, that she _was_ important to him. But her words had left him so helpless, that he couldn't find the energy, or the courage, to take those steps after her. _Sure, she said it was about not caring for Katara, but she meant herself just as much._ Even though Toph was good at hiding her emotions, he had seen how hurt she was, before she had raised her walls around herself again.

-Through his misery, something screamed inside him: _I can't do that to her!_ He had to do _something._ He couldn't bear the thought that Toph would feel like he didn't care about her. He couldn't just leave her in this state any longer.

- _I can't do that! Not to her!_

-He jumped up and started running, but after a few steps, he stopped again. _But what can I say to her? Would she even believe me after this?_ He hated the thought, but it was entirely possible that she wouldn't, that she didn't trust him anymore. The airbender's shoulders slumped.

- _Maybe the others can help me,_ he thought, desperately, _she still trusts them. Maybe, if Suki and Katara talk to her, she might listen..._

-But that meant that he would have to talk to Katara first...

-He slapped his head when he caught himself thinking that. _Come on you whimp, just do it already! It can't possibly be worse than other conversations today now, can it?_ He would have to accept Katara's decision, no matter how hurt he felt about it. And she would have advice for him, she always had. With new determination, he started running again, trying to find Katara. The least he could do was aplogize for hiding from her. She would probably feel just as hurt as Toph did. Aang almost hit himself again, he still couldn't believe himself: How had he managed to hurt two of his best friends in the same hour? His heart sank. Maybe they could somehow be friends again, that was the best he could hope for. But he pushed that thought back, this was not about his wellbeing after all.

-He had something to prove. To Toph, to Katara, and to himself.

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-Racing through the corridors, Aang noticed that there seemed to be a lot more women in the palace now than there had been when he arrived. They shot him curious looks as he flew past them, which almost proved that they didn't belong here. People in Bumi's palace were not surprised by _anything_. The one girl he was looking for, however, was not among them. After a while, he decided that he couldn't just blindly comb through the entire palace, so he decided to find Bumi instead, maybe he would know where his friends were. There were a few places that Aang knew Bumi frequented, and one of them was close by.

-He stopped in front of a door with a large, extravagant sign outside. Aang read absentmindedly:

 **"King reading, please don't disturb the tranquility of our glorious ruler.**

 **Exeptions: Intrusions might be permitted in cases of:**

 **1\. Violent and gruesome death**

 **2\. Dinner issues with Flopsy**

 **3\. Impending world-ending disasters**

 **4\. Bald kids with ridiculous arrows on their heads**

 _ **Note: Exeptions 1 and 3 only apply if the King is in a good mood.**_

 **Failure to comply will result in banishment from the city via catapult, sewer or maildelivery-system (you choose, I'd recommend all of them, Tihihi!)"**

-Aang couldn't help but smile, he didn't doubt that Bumi was sincere about that last part. After all, they had tried them all out in their time.

-But before he could drift off into his memories, he heard a loud _thump_ from inside the room, and suddenly the door flew open, a lean figure crashing into the opposite wall.

-Aang barely had time to process that the figure was, in fact, Katara, before a giant iceblock jumped out of the room, only just fitting through the doorway.

-The monk stared, rubbed his eyes, and tried to understand what he was seeing, but by the time he was done with that, Katara had already been encased in a crater of earth. The iceblock was cackling enthusiastically, jumping up and down in front of the trapped girl. "Seriously, _why_ don't you visit more often? This is more fun than I had in weeks!"

-In response, Aang heard a terrifying growl, followed by a barrage of violent curses, which he only slowly realized were coming out of Katara's mouth. He was stunned, he had never heard his friend freak out like that before. _Well, exept maybe with Toph..._

-The iceblock was blocking his view now, but he could feel the earth shifting, as the block added scoldingly: "But _seriously_ seriously, you still interrupted my study, not nice. Well, your choice. Do you pick the catapult or the sewers?"

-Aang didn't understand what was happening, but it was obvious that he needed to intervene, so he stepped behind the iceblock and turned it around, so that Bumi was facing him. "Oh, hello Aang", the old man greeted him, seemingly unaware of what a sight he was making. The airbender could not supress a laugh; Bumi's body was frozen in a somewhat comical position, one hand across his chest, the other raised in a gesture commanding obedience, yet at the same time, his unfrozen face, with a mischievous smile and raised eyebrows, was so at odds with these gestures that it seemed like a different entity altogether. "Hi, Bumi", Aang coughed, fighting to keep a straight face.

-"Aang?", he heard an incredulous voice from behind the iceblock, "is that you?".

-The airbender frowned, he had actually forgotten about Katara for a moment. _Well, no point in avoiding the inevitable._ With a deep inhale, he stepped around the obstacle - and saw his friend hanging in the middle of the hallway in a cross-position, arms and legs tied to opposite walls with earthen shackles. Aang could only gape at her. He didn't think Bumi in an iceblock could be topped, but this came pretty close. Especially with Katara's face looking even stranger than Bumi's, her expression changing between utter happyness and murderous fury.

-"Aang...you...it's so good to see you!". The joy on her face faltered suddenly and she seemed to cringe internally. The next sentences came rushed and breathless: "Look, I am _so sorry_ for what I said! It just...you just overwhelmed me a bit... _Damm it, no, it's not your fault_ , that's not what I'm saying, I'm just an idiot! You were so nice, and I was an idiot, and I _want_ us to be together, too! Please, just forget what I said, I didn't mean it...". She took a breath for the first time and looked at her friend, blue eyes pleading.

-Aang stared at her, replaying what she had just said in his head. He couldn't really believe it, he didn' know what to feel. On the one hand, he was so relieved and happy, he wanted nothing more than to embrace Katara, and to believe that they _would_ be together, that their dispute indeed meant nothing. On the other hand, he couldn't shake the feeling that this sudden change was too good to be true. He had poured out his heart to her, and she had refused him, and he still didn't know the reason.

-The airbender couldn't process this change in attitude. He ended up just standing there awkwardly, unable to say anything.

-Katara could see the hurt flickering in her friend's eyes, and she felt angry and disappointed in herself. _Why do I always hurt him when I don't mean to?_ She wanted nothing more than to hug him in that moment, and she strained against her chains, but of course, they wouldn't budge.

-Aang saw Katara's struggle and finally caught himself. "Oh my god, I'm sorry", he cried. The earth around Katara's wrists and ankles fell off in an instant. Before the airbender could blink, he was enveloped in Katara's arms. He shuddered at the contact, but wrapped his arms around her back, wishing she would never let him out of this embrace. Luckily, Katara didn't seem to want to. After a while, she turned his head up to hers (she was still considerably taller than him), and kissed his cheek. "Please don't ever run off on me again, ok?", she said, tears welling in her eyes. Aang shook his head, a warm feeling spreading through his body, as he allowed himself to hope that Katara meant it, that they were still friends, still together. "Katara, I...", he began, but broke off, unsure what he wanted to say.

-Whatever it was that he would have said, they would never know, because they were interrupted by a loud cough.

-"Hey, Twinkle Toes, would you care to let me participate in this fascinating conversation?", Bumi called, his iceblock somehow facing their way again. Aang frowned, now he had completely forgotten that Bumi was still there, too. Right now, he wished that his friend was on the other side of the planet.

-"Not right now, Bumi, this is kind of personal, and...", Aang broke off when he finally comprehended the words _Twinkle Toes_ , and all that this nickname meant. "How did you just call me?", he asked, incredulous.

-"Yeah, it's pretty great, isn't it? I still can't believe _I_ never thought of that, but what can you do, right? I guess you showed off those Fire Nation dances of yours to her, huh? Must have made quite the impression...hmmm, yeah not as bad an option as I thought..."

-Katara, increasingly weary of Bumi, didn't have the intention to listen to any more of his ramblings, so his block suddenly made a 180 degrees turn away from them. She took Aang's arm, taking note of how uncomfortable he looked. "Can we maybe go somewhere else? I need to talk to you, and I can't be held responsible for my actions if I have to see this guy any longer!". She shot the iceblock a murderous look.

-"Okay", Aang replied, happy to escape Bumi's company, who was apparently still trying to pair him off with his grandchildren. Worse, with Toph, which was just weird. In the corner of his eyes, he saw that Bumi was looking at them again, as the earth underneath him returned him to his previous position. He pretended not to notice, and started to quickly walk down the hallway, Katara beside him.

-"Hey, she still needs to choose!", he heard Bumi call after them. "I can't just stick her to the catapult, people would say they didn't have rights in my city!" Aang sighed, he really didn't want to argue with his friend right now. So he just waved his hand at the iceblock, making the ice melt into a puddle at his friend's feet. "There. You promise to leave the banishing for now, and I promise that I will write all the invitations, and extra romantically to boot. Sound good?"

-Bumi looked heartbroken, but then he frowned, looking thoughtfully at the letters, which Aang took as agreement, so he quickly grabbed Katara's wrist and pulled her away, before the old king could reconsider. They wouldn't have needed to hurry: Only minutes after they left, an amendment would be added to the sign outside the king's study.


	9. Chapter 8: Four Simple Words

**Disclaimer: This was heavily inspired by 'The Avatar's Love', a much better fanfic than this one, which you should absolutely check out. I just resolved the central conflict** _ **a lot**_ **faster (really hope it doesn't feel rushed).**

* * *

 **Chapter 8: Four simple words**

-Suki had just dropped her boyfriend into the softest bed she could find - in a palace full of simple earthen beds, this had been more complicated than it sounded - and was standing in front of a mirror, renewing her face paint, when the floor of the palace suddenly started to shake. She managed to stay on her feet, but her mirror splintered from the vibrations, sharp shards of glas falling to the ground. _What is going on?,_ she thought, as she heard more rumbling and crashing noises from the hallway. And the noises seemed to be growing louder...

-Without thinking, Suki picked up her metal fans, sprinted to the door and cautiously peeked into the hallway, trying to find the source of the commotion.

-When she looked to the right, she saw the source slowly stomping towards her, an angry expression on her face, ripping up the floor and walls of the hallway as she went.

-Suki sighed. She put her fans back on the shelf and stepped into Toph's way. She didn't know what her friend's problem was this time, but she was fairly certain that the king would not be pleased that Toph was tearing up his palace, so obviously, Suki had to do something.

-"Could you stop that for a second, Toph?", she asked, trying the polite approach.

-The earthbender just grunted and continued on her way, tearing down some exquisite paintings of King Bumi that were displayed on the wall.

- _Ok, so it's that bad_ , Suki thought. "What did the crazy king do to make you tear up his palace?", she asked, scolding, but also genuinely curious.

-Toph huffed and tried to get past Suki, but the older girl spread her arms to block off her escape. She had to fight the urge to just shove her out of the way, but Suki hadn't done anything, really, she was just being annoyingly curious. So Toph just smirked and made something up: "He was joking about being the greatest earthbender in the world again, so I decided to remind him why he is wrong about that."

-Suki frowned. She could have easily believed that both of them would act like that, if she hadn't seen Toph's expression earlier. _Sure, just a friendly tease, is that why you have steam coming out of your ears?._ It had to be more than that. "You know, you used to be better at lying", she commented, "and usually you do it with more enthusiasm, too." Against her will, Suki felt a little satisfaction when she saw Toph's smirk falter for a moment. When would her friend realize that she couldn't keep all her feelings hidden behind that sarcastic grin? That she didn't _need_ to do so?

-"Whatever", Toph growled. She just wanted to be left alone, was that so much to ask for? Suki had definitely spent too much time with Sokka lately, because she was starting to get just as annoying.

-"And where are Katara and Aang? Didn't you two want to look for him?"

-The blind girl flushed angrily. "I don't know and I don't care! Go find them yourself, if you miss them so bad!" With that, she pushed past Suki and stormed off. Just in case, she collapsed the ceiling to stop her from following. She was done with her friends for today.

-Suki looked at the rubble incredulously, trying to understand what she had heard. _What in the name of Kyoshi did they do to her?,_ she wondered. She had never seen Toph so upset...

-She glanced at Sokka, who had somehow managed to sleep through the entire earthquake, still snoring peacefully. Suki decided that she could probably leave him alone for a few minutes to check on Aang and Katara...

::::::::::::::::::::::::

::::::::::::::::::::::::

-No sooner had they entered the little side room and closed the door behind them, than Katara drew Aang close and kissed him. It was a kiss that expressed all the guilt, love and joy that she had felt when seeing him. Aang was surprised, but after a moment, he returned the kiss with the same fervor, forgetting his anxiety. Katara sighed when he deepened the kiss, feeling content just being close to him. _What on earth was I thinking, saying No?,_ she wondered. She couldn't understand herself: This was what she wanted, wasn't it? She had disappointed him, and yet he seemed to have forgiven her so easily, because he was just _Aang._ Katara felt incredibly relieved.

-They broke apart after a long time, but still held each other close, their breath mingling in the small space between them. Aang was feeling absurdly happy, he could only say: "I - Thank you, Katara!". Katara laughed quietly. "You are welcome, Aang! Anytime again, if you like", she added, winking at him. She saw the airbender blush at that, and she couldn't help but think, how lucky she was. He was the Avatar, but more importantly, he was _Aang_ , he could have chosen anyone, yet she was the one he loved. _A lifetime with him, how could I not want that?_ She braced herself before she said the next words; she didn't know if he could accept her again. "Aang, I...I was so stupid, and...well...if you'd want to ask again, I...I would say Yes!" _Please ask, just ask..._

- _I would say Yes._

-Four simple words, yet they turned the airbender's world upside down. _Does she really mean that?,_ he wondered. _But then why...?_

-"Why _didn't_ you say Yes?!", he blurted out, but he quickly realized how whiny and childish that sounded. "Sorry", he mumbled, not looking at Katara.

-"No, you're right", Katara said, cringing at the hurt in his voice. "I should have said Yes, and I don't know why I didn't, I'm sorry." She took a deep breath and tried to be honest with herself, attempting to find an answer. "I think...you just surprised me. I don't think that I thought about _forever_ , until you asked, and it caught me off-guard. But now I had time to think about it, and I changed my mind, if...", she swallowed, dreading his answer, "if you would still want to."

-If _he_ wanted to? _Of course_ he did! He wanted nothing more than that. But Aang stopped himself from rushing his answer, he forced himself to think about it. Maybe he _had_ rushed it before, he realized with a pang of guilt, maybe he had pressed Katara too much with his expectations. _Why would I even want to rush it ?_ The thought came unexpected, but Aang found that he couldn't find any explanation. After all, they were still teenagers, they still had so much time, maybe it _was_ too early for _forever_.

-"Yes, Katara, I do", he said after a while, choosing his words carefully, "but I won't press you. I think you were right, it was too soon." He smiled ruefully. "Maybe I can ask you again in a few years, when I actually know what I am talking about..". After two years of being a couple, he had thought that he knew. _But if I can't even handle a rejection, I obviously don't._

-Aang shook his head. But they could still be with each other, couldn't they? He allowed himself a little hopeful smile when he looked at her again: "Until then, we could just carry on as we did. If you want to", he added hastily.

-Katara looked at him in surprise. It was not the answer she had expected. Yet she felt like it was the _right_ answer, somehow. Even though she loved Aang and had told him that she wanted to be with him, _forever_ still seemed like a scary prospect to her. She didn't really know why, but it did. Aang seemed to have realized that, and he didn't force her to make a decision. _Of course he didn't._ Katara felt like laughing and crying at the same time. She looked at him thankfully. "You are doing that Avatar-wisdom thing again", she managed to say, her voice quivering a little.

-Aang looked at her shyly. "Does that mean, we are ok?", he asked quietly.

-Without another word, Katara embraced him firmly, thanking him silently. He held on to her tight, as she buried her face in his shoulder, savoring the moment, and finally relaxing. After a while, Katara broke the embrace, she needed to get something off her chest.

-"I'm sorry for behaving so childish", she said, angry at herself. "I don't know why I felt like you wouldn't understand, I shouldn't have avoided this conversation". In hindsight, she felt silly.

-Aang rubbed his head, embarrassed. "Well, about that...", he said, and hesitated, but he knew he had to get this out. "I think I am the one who avoided this conversation. First I ran away like an idiot, and now I, well, I hid from you when you and Toph came to find me." The words rushed out of him now: "I was just confused, I didn't know if we could still be friends, and I didn't want to loose you, and I panicked, and...".

-Katara brought her lips down on his to silence him. She smiled into the kiss, when she felt the tension slowly leaving his body. When he looked up at her again, he could see that protective look on her face, that she always got when she felt that her friends needed reassurance. "Stop blaming yourself", Katara commanded him. She smiled ruefully. "I think we were both being idiots about this." Suddenly, she laughed out loud. "But luckily, two idiots put together seem to create wisdom, somehow!". Aang couldn't help it, he joined in on her laughter, laughing about himself, how silly his actions looked in hindsight.

-Suddenly, the door opened and Suki poked her head in. "Thank God, I thought that sounded like you!", she exclaimed and stepped into the room. "I searched the entire palace for...", she broke off when she saw the expression on her friends' faces. "What are you two doing? Did I interrupt something?"

-Katara grinned. "Oh, nothing special, we're just two idiots being idiotic, as we do", she stated, feeling absurdly giddy. "Yeah", Aang joined in, "no change there, just everyday business", he giggled. They looked at each other and broke out into liberated laughter again. Suki looked from one to the other, wondering what had gotten into them. She coughed: "Ahem, you two seem to be enjoying yourselves quite a lot", she stated the obvious. "Am I missing out on some kind of inside joke here?"

-Katara managed to shake her head. "No", she anwered. "Yes", Aang said a heartbeat later. She raised his eyebrows at him. He blushed lightly. "I mean, it kind of is, isn't it? Even if it's hella stupid?". Katara snorted with laughter at that: "Yeah, it is. Figures, with the two of us!". They noticed that Suki was staring at them, clearly not understanding what was happening, and already they were giggling again.

-The Kyoshi Warrior felt like she was being ridiculed, she was clearly out of the loop. _Where is Sokka when I need him?_ Still, it felt good to see her friends so- _lively_ again, even if it was on her costs. She hadn't expected this to be resolved quite so fast.

- _Anyway_ , that was not why she was here. "Well, you two idiots are exactly what I need right now, since mine is still fast asleep". She purposefully ignored her friends grins at that statement. "I ran into Toph earlier, and she seemed to be quite upset about something." She paused. " 'Upset', as in, she was tearing down the palace. Do you know anything about that?" She looked at her friends interrogatively.

-Katara frowned. "Yeah, she _was_ pretty upset when I left her. I have no idea why, though, it kind of came out of nowhere. I actually meant to ask her about that." She looked at her friend curiously. "It had something to do with you, Aang. I know how weird that sounds, but Toph seemed almost...well, panicked."

-Aang blushed guiltily. His giddyness was gone in an instant. He couldn't bring himself to look his friends in the eyes when he tried to explain. "That's another case in point why I am an idiot. I-", he shuddered, "I hurt her. Badly. She thinks I don't care about her and...and... _I do_! But she doesn't believe me, how can I convince her...?!"

-Katara instinctively hugged him again. She knew him well enough to understand, how he would be torturing himself over something like this. Suki joined the embrace a second later, putting a comforting arm around Aang shoulders.

-"I need to find her!", the airbender burst out. He looked at his friends pleadingly: "Maybe you can tell her that I didn't mean what she thinks I meant..."

-Suki was feeling uncomfortable, seeing the usually so cheerful monk so downcast. And she couldn't believe that he would do anything mean to anyone, least of all to Toph. "I think you are overexaggerating, Aang", she told him. "Whatever happened, I'm sure you didn't mean anything by it. And this is _Toph_ we are talking about. She might be a little mad at you right now, but she will calm down eventually." Suki thought of what Toph had said on their way here. "And she can't be cross with you for long, she said so herself", she added.

-"You don't understand!", Aang broke the embrace. "She told me that I was a liar, she really thinks, that she doesn't mean anything to me. That's the worst thing I could have done to her! I promised her, she trusted me..."

-Katara cut him off, she couldn't bear it when he punished himself like this: "Look, Aang, I know you. You would never hurt Toph intentionally." She looked him deep in the eye. "And she knows that, too. Give her some time to cool off, and she will understand that you didn't mean anything by what you said."

-Aang wanted to believe her. But Katara hadn't been there, she hadn't seen the hurt in Toph's eyes, like he had. _Somehow, I really hurt her. She won't just forgive me so easily._

-Taking a deep breath, Aang explained to them what had happened, leaving nothing out.

-When he was done, Katara and Suki exchanged a confused look. Both of them were thinking the same: _That's not like Toph, to get so worked up over nothing._ Either the blind girl had had a terrible day, or Aang was worrying over nothing. Yet, one look at him told them that neither explanation would convince him. The airbender looked far too guilt-ridden to be persuaded that he wasn't guilty of anything.

-Suki put a reassuring hand on her friends shoulder. "Look, why don't we just go and talk to her? I'm sure she will have cooled off by now, you'll clear that misunderstanding up in no time!" Aang glanced up at her, unconvinced, but well aware that he had to do _something_. He took a deep breath and stood up. "Yes, let's do that", he said, trying for his friends' sake to sound optimistic.

-"Well, first we have to _find_ her.", Katara reminded them. "If Toph doesn't want to be found, you normally don't find her." She was starting to feel angry towards her: Toph had every right to act childish once in a while, but not when it meant that she was hurting Aang like this.

-Aang stomped his foot on the ground, extending his seismic sense as far as he could. He could feel half the palace, with people walking around everywhere, but no sign of the characteristic avalanche. His shoulders slumped. Either Toph had left the palace, or his seismic sense _really_ still needed some work. "I got nothing.", he sighed.

-"No worries", Suki called, trying to cheer him up, "we can just go to where I last saw her, she was leaving a pretty obvious trail to follow." She really hoped that no servant had stumbled across said trail yet. If the king found out, he would probably incarcerate Toph for vandalism. _Or he would try, at least_ , she thought. She somehow doubted that the blind bender would take any orders from the crazy old man.

-"Lead the way, then", Katara responded, grasping her boyfriend's hand firmly. "Let's find her already."

-True enough, the path of destruction that Toph had left behind was still there. The three friends began to follow it, while Aang tried his best to put the walls somewhat into shape again. When they passed their room, Suki noted that Sokka's bed was empty. Apparently he had finally woken up. _Probably off looking for food,_ was Suki's first idea. She grinned at how predictable he was to her by now.

-The trail led into the western side of the palace. This area was mostly used for storage, and was thus largely devoid of people, which might explain why noone had sounded the alarm yet. Yet, after they had followed it for about ten minutes, the destruction grew less and less, until it finally stopped with a couple of cracks in the wall. There was no sign where Toph would have gone after that.

-Aang used his seismic sense again: There were very few people on this side of the palace, and none of them was Toph. He sighed, resigned.

-Katara growled in frustration. "Don't worry, we'll find her!", she told them angrily. She stormed off, determined to find the infuriating girl.

* * *

 _ **"Oooh, did I interrupt an Avatar-wisdom session?"**_

 _ **"That's a thing of the past."**_

 **;)**


	10. Chapter 9: Confessions and Apologies

**I'd just like to point out that Bumi is ridiculously fun to write.**

* * *

 **Chapter 9: Confessions and Apologies**

-They searched the western side of the palace for another two hours, but found nothing. It was way past dinner time already, when Suki pointed out that they should probably get something to eat, they could resume their search later, if Toph hadn't shown up until then. Katara agreed reluctantly, silently cursing Toph for behaving so childish. _Look who's talking,_ she immediately scolded herself. But still, when she looked at Aang, she could see how downcast he was, and she felt angry at the blind girl again.

-Aang was in no mood to partake in a happy-go-lucky round at the dinner table, so he waved his friends on, saying that he wanted to look a bit further. He felt like he was betraying Toph if he stopped looking for her, as if confirming that he didn't care about her. He turned away from them to comb through the palace one more time.

-Katara could guess what he was thinking, and she was about to go after him, when she felt Suki's hand on her shoulder. "Let him", the older girl said, "I think he needs this. Doubt it's our company he wants right now." She forced a smile. "Besides, Sokka should be awake by now, we don't want to leave him alone with the king at dinner, do we?", she asked sarcastically. Katara snorted at the thought, she was sure Sokka would be fine in Bumi's company. She looked at her friend one last time, who had reached the end of the hallway and proceeded to punch the walls. She sighed loudly, but let Suki turn her around. "Yeah, I guess you're right.", she said, walking back the way they had come. "Let's rescue my brother."

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-Aang didn't know how much time had passed, but his arms and legs were slowly starting to go numb from hitting the walls and floors repeatedly. No matter how often he tried, though, he couldn't find Toph's signature presence. It was as if the blind bender had vanished into thin air. Finally, the airbender just stopped in his tracks, lacking the energy to go on. He tried to go through the possibilities: _Ok, were could she be? She could be somewhere where she isn't touching the ground, I couldn't see her then...no, she would not do that. On the top of the palace maybe? I think I could feel her there, but maybe it's worth a look... Or she could have left the palace entirely, there's no way I would find her then..._ He groaned and closed his eyes. This didn't get him anywhere.

-Frustrated, he put both his hands to the ground and sent out tremours through the rock, even further than before, as far as he could. Still, no sign of the blind bender. He was about to give up, when he noticed a small irregularity, just on the rim of his vision. His eyes narrowed suspiciously. It didn't feel like Toph, but somehow he got the feeling that it didn't belong there. He frowned and moved towards it, still extending his vision through the ground. Soon, he could see the source of the anomaly clearly: There was a small shaft at the foot of the palace, closely resembling those of the Omashu delivery system, which was probably why he hadn't noticed it before. Only now that he extended his vision, he could feel that it ran much deeper than any service shaft had a right to, going way past the inhabited parts of the city. It seemed to extend all the way down to the giant rock that Omashu was built on. And it was perfectly vertical. There would be no use for a construction like that...

- _There's nothing down there_ , Aang thought. _So either there's some serious excavation going on, or somebody_ really _doesn't want to be found._ His heart beat a little faster, as he ran towards the shaft, descending to the lowest floors of the palace. The seismic sense led him to a small storage room, filled with long racks stuffed with paper and ink. He moved through them, to the back wall, his steps getting a little slower with hesitation. The wall didn't look out of place at all, but his eartbending told Aang otherwise. He took on a solid stance and pulled the wall apart in the middle, revealing a small opening in the rock.

-He stared down the dark, empty shaft below him, trying to determine wether it was safe to jump down. Even with his extended vision, however, he couldn't see the bottom. Aang frowned. The shaft was too small for an airscooter, he would need to improvise. Putting his hands to the wall, he formed a layer of earth into a pair of gloves. He stepped to the edge of the hole, took a deep breath, and jumped. His earth covered hands reached to opposite sides of the tunnel, slowing his fall, while also sending out vibrations to determine how far down he was. It was his only source of vision now, the light from the room above him quickly faded away, and he was enveloped in darkness. After about a minute, he could finally feel the ground, to his great relief. The airbender shook off his gloves and created a ball of air underneath him, which allowed him to slowly float to the ground. He immediately lit a flame in his hand to examine his surroundings.

-Aang was standing in a tunnel, much larger than the shaft through which he had just entered. But just like it, the tunnel didn't seem to be a natural formation. It reminded him of the tunnels in the the Cave of Two Lovers, and he wondered if these, too, were created by badgermoles. When he made his flame burn brighter, he saw that both directions looked exactly the same, vanishing into darkness in the distance. There was no indication where Toph would have gone. Aang sighed. The flame died in his hand, and he was surrounded by darkness once more. He closed his eyes and focussed his other senses again. He had found that his hearing grew sharper when he wasn't able to see, something that Toph had always emphasized in his training. _Rightly so,_ the airbender thought, as his ears picked up a faint rumbling sound. He was fairly certain that it came from his right, but to make sure, he checked with his seismic sense. He could clearly feel the earth shifting and changing, in rapid and unnatural fashion. Without bothering to relight his flame, he went down the tunnel.

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-"...and then I told him, that they had a _rocky relationship_ ", Sokka giggled. "You know, because of all the rocks!", he added. Bumi snorted in amusement at that.

-They were sitting around the king's grand dinner table, Sokka still finishing his latest dish. Apart from some exotic birds chirping in the ceiling, they were alone; Bumi's servants had already gone to bed, after he had assured them that he was perfectly capable of treating his guest by himself. He enjoyed these one-on-one conversations the most. _Especially with this individual..._

\- "Does that mean, every relationship I ever had was _rocky_?", he asked, with a mix of amusement and genuine curiosity. "You know, since I'm an eartbender and all?".

-Sokka frowned at that. "No, I only meant Aang and Toph", he responded. He shifted on his chair and winced, as his behind protested again, it was still aching from Toph's earlier treatment. "I guess you could say, Toph and I have a rocky relationship, too", he admitted through closed teeth.

-"But you are not an earthbender, are you?", Bumi inquired. "No rocks. So how is that a _rocky_ relationship, huh?"

-Sokka was beginning to grow irritated. "But that's just a saying! _Rocky,_ because it's, well, _rough_ ". He looked at the old king incredulously: "Come on, you must have heard that saying at least _once_ in your two-hundred-and then-some-years!".

-Bumi smirked at him, sensing an easy victory. "But Twinkle Toes and Blindy get along fine, why is that a _rough_ relationship, now?", he asked in a serious tone.

-The warrior threw his hands up in desperation. "No, I only said that, because their relationship started with them throwing rocks at each other!". _It really takes the fun out of jokes when I have to explain them..._

"But then", Bumi logically returned to his original point, "you are saying that _every_ earthbender, myself included, has a rocky relationship!". He cackled. "Not _too_ far off, but I'd say some of us get along fine!".

-Sokka opened his mouth to protest, but found that he had in fact contradicted himself, so he closed it again. A wide grin appeared on Bumi's face. He raised his fist triumphantly: "That round goes to me!", he announced.

-Sokka flushed, embaressed that he had tripped over his own words. He enjoyed these little battles of wit, but as mad as Bumi was, he was surprisingly sharp, too. Sokka raised his mug in appreciation: "So it does", he admitted, and they drank to one another. It was late, and they had moved from water to something more potent some time ago. The warrior was beginning to feel the effects of whatever it was that Bumi had in these barrels of his, but for now, it didn't seem to muddle with his mind, so he was fine with that. As for the king, Sokka honestly couldn't tell a difference.

-"So", he said as he put down his mug, eager to get a rematch. "Back to Aang for a moment: What do you think of them silly arrows of his? Where do those even..."

-He was rudely interrupted by a loud cry from Bumi, who had spied two newcomers standing in the doorway, apparently debating wether they really wanted to enter. "Finally, the ladies have arrived!", the old man called, and bowed deferentially. The two girls sighed and reluctantly approached the table.

-Sokka joined in: "Sisterheart! My Love! So nice of you to come by!", he cried, jumping up to embrace his girlfriend. Suki was a little surprised by his enthusiasm, but it was an improvement over fainting Sokka, so she didn't argue. Only when he was directly in front of her did she wrinkle up her nose: "You smell funny!", she commented, and held him on arms length. "Have you guys been drinking?".

-Sokka looked her deep in the eyes. "Only a liddle!", he swore, with just a slight slur.

-"Well, so long as it's not cactus juice", Katara commented sarcastically, but then she frowned and gave Bumi a hard look. She wouldn't put it past him to actually serve that stuff to his guests.

-Bumi shook his head. "Sorry, recipe's a secret". He looked contemplatingly at the ceiling: "But cactus sounds nice, I'll try that!", he added after a while.

-Suki rolled her eyes at Katara, as if to say, _Look what you did!_

-Bumi smiled amiably at his guests: "Shame, really, you just missed me besting him, _again_ ", he told them with a wide smirk. Sokka coughed in protest. "Hardly _again._ You lost the last two rounds, remember? And the evening is still long!". "True, true", Bumi admitted, and eagerly turned back to Sokka. "So, where were we? Something about arrows...".

-"Oh yeah! I was just wondering: Where do those even end on his body? Your bet?". Bumi frowned and quickly listed all the tattoos he knew of: "Head, feet, hands...That's it, isn't it?".

-Sokka smirked: "Yes, yes, but where do they _come_ from? Do you think they go all the way down to...?". Finally, Bumi understood what he was getting at, and a look of genuine curiosity passed across his face, immediately followed by a mischievous grin.

-"Well, only one way to find out!", he anounced enthusiastically. "We place our bets, and then we'll see who's right!". Sokka nodded eagerly, briefly thinking that _maybe_ , he had really had a little too much to drink.

-Katara and Suki had followed the entire exchange with open mouths, too stunned to say anything. "You- you are not seriously suggesting to undress Aang and trace his arrows?", Katara managed to say after a while. Sokka frowned: "Jeez, it sounds really strange when you put it like that! Might not be such a good idea after all". Suddenly, his face lit up. "Sisterheart, you wanna help us out here?", he asked with a mischievous grin, matching Bumi's.

-His sister stared at him, then blushed furiously as she realized what he was suggesting. Suki was glaring at her boyfriend in disgust, but at the same time, she couldn't help but shoot Katara a curious look. Sokka still smirked at her: "Oh come on, you must have looked at least once yourself! Come now, admit it!".

-Katara noticed Suki's inquisitive stare, and her face turned crimson, as she tried to avoid everybody's gazes.

-Suki broke into a cough at the sight, which rapidly turned into a giggle. Bumi was cackling as well, and Sokka grinned at them triumphantly: "See, told ya!". Katara had the urge to submerge the entire room in an ocean of water, but to her misfortune, there was none nearby. She wondered if it was possible to blush even deeper than she already did.

-She was rescued by Bumi, of all people: "Oh, but where are my manners! Sit down, ladies, have a drink!". He cackled. "This has gotten very interesting! It's late, but I think I'll find some more." With that, he left the table and headed for the door. Only he didn't quite find it, instead, the king simply walked through the wall to the right of it.

-The girls looked at each other, both simultaniously deciding that they weren't really that hungry after all. Suki grabbed her boyfriend and shoved him towards the exit, but Sokka immediately protested: "Hey, we can't leave! He still owes me a round!". Katara shook her head vehemently, still trying to get the red out of her cheeks: "Nope, you've had enough for one evening, and that's that!".

-The idiot threw her a leer over his shoulder: "But I was right, wasn't I? You _did_...". He didn't manage to finish his sentence, because the remaining alcohol from the mug that he was still holding suddenly condensed into an iceblock and hit his forehead, knocking him senseless. Katara glared at Suki, as the boy slumped in their arms, daring her to say anything. But Suki just quickly turned her head away from her friend and whistled innocently, as they carried Sokka out of the room.

:::::::::::::::::::

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-As Aang came closer, he could feel the tremors in the ground even without earthbending, the tunnel was shaking. When the crashing and rumbling grew almost painfully loud, he could feel the ceiling of the tunnel receding, and in front of him, he sensed a wide open space. _I must have found a cave._ Even with his extended senses, he couldn't trace it's outlines, so Aang lit a flame in his hand once again, made it burn blindingly bright, and sent it into the air. The sight it revealed made him gasp in awe:

-The fire illuminated an enormous cavern, clearly too big to be carved by badgermoles. Aang's eyes tried to take it all in, and failed miserably; the cave had to be larger than the palace far above it. Even with his powerful light source, he couldn't see the ceiling. He could make out the tips of giant stalactites sticking out of the darkness above him, too many to count. On the ground, their counterparts towered over the young monk, dwarfing the icebergs he had seen at the poles. At the far side of the cave, he could make out a small waterfall, springing from the wall high above and rushing down the rocks, forming stunning stone formations on the way.

-Aang could barely tear his eyes away, he had never seen anything that even came close to this. He was so absorbed by the stunning view, that the tremors he felt receded into oblivion.

-Suddenly, however, one of the giant stalacmites started to shake, then crumbled, thousands of years of growth destroyed in a matter of seconds. Aang blinked in shock. Through the dust cloud, he could see a small figure, and more rocks flying from where she stood. In an instant, the purpose of him being down here came back with full force, and he almost ran straight towards her. After a few steps, however, he stopped himself: The figure was still tearing up the ground, breaking off giant boulders and sending them as dangerous projectiles in all directions.

-Despite the tremors, Toph must have surely felt him approach. But she didn't interrupt her bending for a second, or acknowledge his presence in any other way. Aang opted to wait by the tunnel entrance. _Better the cave than me_..., he thought anxiously.

-After a few more minutes of this, the last boulder finally hit the ground, and no others seemed to want to spring up, so Aang decided that it was probably save now. He started to move towards her, carefully avoiding the craters everywhere. The cave looked like a whole battalion of badgermoles had tried their hands at modern art, Toph must have been down here a while. He could only hope that she had taken out most of her anger on the earth, otherwise, he really was in trouble.

-When Toph didn't react to his approach, he opened his mouth, and was about to say something stupid like: "Hi, Toph, what are you doing here?", but thankfully, Toph beat him to it. "So", she said in his vague direction, "I guess you talked to her, then?". She didn't sound at all surprised that he had found her.

-Aang rubbed his head, embarassed. "Well...yeah, I did, but...". He took a deep breath: "Toph, look, I'm...".

-"If you even think about uttering the word 'sorry', I'm gonna make sure you mean that", the blind girl cut him off, standing with arms akimbo. The airbender swallowed the rest of the sentence, expecting to be hit by a boulder at any moment. But Toph just stood there, not even really looking at him. "Good, that's done then. I think I've dismantled this place enough, let's go back up and eat something. I'm starving." With that, she brushed past him, towards the tunnel. Aang looked after her, surprised. This wasn't at all how he had imagined this conversation. "You aren't mad at me anymore?", he asked, not trusting this sudden change. Toph shrugged. "Course not. Didn't think you were a liar anyway, you're just annoyingly angsty. And apparently you've finally grown a pair and talked to Sugar Queen, instead of running away from her". She smirked over her shoulder: "I must say, I thought it would take you longer, maybe another day of your spiritual mumbo-jumbo-meditation-thingy. But I guess a little pep talk can work wonders, heh? Good to know I've still got it."

-Unbidden, the memory of his first earthbending lessons came to Aang's mind, when Toph had given him one or two 'gentle nudges', as she called it, to teach him to be steadfast and stubborn. _But then...?_ "Was that all that was?!", he cried incredulously. "That was just a _charade,_ to make me run to Katara?!" Didn't Toph know how much her words had affected him? Something just felt wrong about that.

-The girl shrugged again. "Now, don't get whimpy again! You were just on a good path. A little more practice, and you may even survive a relationship!". She laughed, but it sounded humourless. "Come on, did I ever get angry with you when you made one of your moronic decisions? You should know me better than that by now."

-She was right about that last part. And Aang didn't believe her. He wasn't sure how much she was making up, but her voice seemed just a little more brittle than ususal, so something was definitely off. _She's still hiding, only now it's behind words_ , he thought, but didn't voice that suspicion. He liked living, after all. Still, he felt like they had resolved nothing, that he and Toph were still alienated by what he had done earlier. He couldn't just let her walk away like this. So he called after her, and something in his voice actually made her turn around:

-"Toph, I- I just want you to know...I care for you. You are my friend, and you always will be, and I would hate if this comes between us.". He sighed deeply. "I'm just an idiot, acting like that. If I ever again give you the feeling like I don't care, just punch me, I'd deserve it". His voice took on a pleading tone: "Just, please, don't _ever_ think you aren't important to me. You are!". He glanced at her anxiously. "Can you believe me?".

-Toph stood there, motionless. Inwardly, she was clenching her fists with relief. She hadn't even known that she had waited- _wanted_ \- to hear this from him, but she had, and it felt good. Some of the tension finally left her body. Still, she wouldn't let him get out that easy. She put on her usual smirk: "Well, that was sappy", she commented. "And yes, you _are_ an idiot, no argument there. And the hitting part sounds pretty good, too!". With that, she punched him in the shoulder, a lot harder than ususal. Aang winced, but as much as it hurt, he was incredibly relieved to see that gesture from her. "Thanks", he grinned stupidly, rubbing his shoulder.

-"Oh, you're _very_ welcome!", Toph replied, with a mixture of amusement and anger. "There's plenty more where that came from!". She hit him again, in the other shoulder this time, to even it out somewhat. _Come on, the moron asked for it,_ she thought, trying to keep being annoyed with him. But she could still _feel_ that stupid grin of his, and now she was grinning as well. "Don't think that means we're even! You still owe me for that heartattack earlier!", she laughed, putting her facade aside without even noticing.

-Aang felt absurdly happy, he couldn't get the grin off his face. "I think I still got some feeling in my shoulders, wanna remedy that?", he joked, although he knew that Toph would certainly take him by his word. Of course, the third strike came without delay, and he was beginning to worry that he would need some of Katara's healing water when they were done. In an attempt at seriousness, he offered: "Seriously though, I'm _sorry_ for that, I didn't mean to..."

-A pillar erruped from the ground without warning and hit him in the chest, knocking the air out of him and sending him flying backwards. "Don't say I didn't warn you!", Toph growled, already sending the next pieces of the cave at the airbender.

:::::::::::::::::

:::::::::::::::::

-They didn't even bother heaving Sokka back onto the bed, instead, they simply dumped him on the floor as soon as they had reached their room. Suki's face was completely serious when she stated: "We shouldn't leave him alone with Bumi ever again, hmm?".

-"Hmmpf", Katara just grumbled. She was done with this day. She mumbled a barely audible: "Goo' night", as she turned for the door, hoping to avoid any further conversation.

-"Soooooo", Suki's voice chimed from behind her, "anything you wanna share?". Katara could practically _feel_ that mischievous grin on her face. She tried to keep the colour from rising into her cheeks again, but to no avail. "Good night!", she said vehemently, and slammed the door shut behind her.

-Suki chuckled in amusement. _Oh, I can tease her forever with this!,_ she thought with a sly grin. She briefly wondered if the airbender knew. _If he doesn't, tomorrow's conversation is gonna be_ very _amusing._

::::::::::::::::::

::::::::::::::::::

-Deep below the group, the giant cave was shaking with the sound of crumbling earth, being ripped out of the ground and sent into the air, over and over again. It was deafening, if there were any badgermoles nearby, they were wise to keep their distance. And yet, over the noise and the chaos, another, lighter sound could be made out, however faintly:

-The cave echoed with the brilliant laughter of a young airbender, as he dodged and ducked between the boulders that were being hauled at him. It was a carefree laughter, almost unhinged. He couldn't stop, even though, in the back of his mind, he was aware that it gave away his position to the rock thrower beneath him.

-The blind girl was standing in the middle of the cave, as she ripped it apart and send it at the laughter. Each piece of earth was aimed to find the elusive boy, but she couldn't land a hit. To her own surprise, she was laughing as well, almost as brilliantly as him. The combination of her own relief, and his laughter ringing in her ears, was too intoxicating to allow for any serious thoughts. So she had just given up and laughed along with him.

-Aang avoided everything that Toph threw at him. But even if she would have hit him, he wouldn't have cared in this moment. They were back to being friends, and that was all that mattered. If he would take a beating, no matter. _Would be just like old times_ , he thought with a grin.

-A boulder swished past his ear, missing him by only an inch. He spun in midair, propelling himself higher up. He smiled giddyly at the small speck on the ground that was his friend: "You're getting closer! A couple more tries and I might feel a breeze!", he shouted down.

-"Oh yeah?!", Toph retorted, laughing. "Try to feel this!", she cried, as she sent a boulder straight upwards, while simultaniously loosening a stalactite from the ceiling. She could feel the two pieces connecting in midair, and for a second, she felt small feet touching the surface of the stalactite. Then it crashed down, and she heard that laughter again: "Almost! But you are ruining this beautiful cave, Sifu Toph!". She could tell that he tried to sound scolding, but with little success.

-"Shame! And I _so_ liked how it looked!", she commented sarcastically. She pricked up her ears, trying to find him again. It was suspiciously quiet all of a sudden. Then she heard a soft sound to her left, about fifty feet up. Within a second, a rock crashed into that exact spot, but Toph didn't pick up the sound of a falling airbender. Instead, she heard carefree laughter from her right again, almost directly next to her. She spun around in surprise and formed a dense earth box around the source, trying to pin Aang down at last. Only a moment later, however, she heard him above her in the air again: "My goodness, Toph, you've gotten rusty!".

-Aang knew that he was seriously pushing his luck with such a statement, and sure enough, a true hail of earth columns was sent his way. He narrowly managed to avoid most of them, even though a few still grazed him as they flew past. Toph had changed her strategy, now she was keeping the rocks in the air, and was moving them towards him, attempting to trap him between them and the walls of the cave. There was no way to jump through the rocks without alerting her, so Aang quickly improvised an airscooter underneath him, and surfed along the walls of the cave. When he looked back, he saw that the rocks were still moving towards where he had been a moment ago. He grinned, a little proud of himself that he could still fool her.

-Suddenly, a stone slab errupted from the wall, directly in front of him. Before he could even think about evading, he crashed into it and tumbled to the floor of the cave. At the last second, he managed to slow his fall with a quick gust of air. His lightsource went out, and the cave was covered in complete darkness again. While he still tried to figure out where up and down was, he heard Toph's laughter, very close.

-"That cute little bubble of yours is too noisy, Twinkles", she smirked, standing over him. Without any further conversation, she raised earth walls around him, trapping him to the ground. Aang, still dizzy, picked himself up with effort and jumped at the wall to his right, cracking it open before he hit it. He had no time to enjoy his freedom, as Toph quickly sent another barrage of all sorts of projectiles at him. He resorted to eartbending, crushing the rocks as they aproached him, but now that he was on the ground, it was a futile effort. It took but a few minutes, and Toph had him completely encased in earth, only his face and hands were sticking out.

-Aang could only listen helplessly, as she stalked over to him. He didn't see a thing, even though she was right in front of him. He _could,_ however, imagine her self-satisfied smirk, as she leaned closer and padded his cheek. "Rusty, huh?", she grinned. "Jeez, I guess you're right! That took far too long!" Through the ground, he could feel her stretch out next to his prison. "Guess we have to do this more often, then", she yawned, while absentmindedly sending tiny pebbles at his face.

-Aang bowed his head in resignation. "Ok, Sifu, you win. Again. You are the greatest earthbender in the world, and all that". He made his best pleading eyes at her, even though that was worthless: "Can I _please_ come out of here now, so that I can shake your hand?"

-Toph stood up abruptly. "I've got a better idea: Why don't I leave you down here, to think about your mistakes? A little silence works wonders for meditation, I've heard", she added mischievously.

-Aang rolled his eyes at her vague direction. "Very funny, Toph", he commented.

-"Oh, I wasn't joking!", Toph insisted. She put her hand over his mouth before he could protest. "Buut, I have to admit, that was pretty fun, and we _did_ establish that you are an idiot, which I can quote you on, soo...". The earth prison suddenly crumbled around him, and Aang fell face first to the ground. Toph thought for a second about picking him up, but decided against it. "Come on, Lazy Bones!", she called, already marching off, "Better hurry up, the elevator only goes once a day!".

-Aang laughed quietly at that, and stood up shakily. He took a few steps after her, but his legs wouldn't hold him, and he fell again. Only now did he notice all the bruises and cuts he had sustained during the last few minutes, and the numbness in his bones. He ground his teeth, and proceeded to crawl towards the exit. After a few paces, however, he felt a hand on his arm.

-"Come on, Twinkles", Toph said in an unusually soft voice. She grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet, and before he could fall again, she put his arm around her shoulder. The blind girl grinned at him: "Now you owe me one for this, too. You'll never get out of debt if you go on like this!". Aang was surprised, but he smiled back at her tiredly, and leaned on her as they walked on.

-She half carried him towards the exit, and down the tunnel. When they reached her small shaft, she let him slide to the floor and pulled up the earth underneath them, creating her own elevator up to the palace.

-By the time they reached the top, Aang was almost asleep with exhaustion. When Toph picked him up again, he smiled tiredly at her: "Thank you, Toph. For everything!". His head dropped, and he fell asleep for good.

-Toph smiled happily. "You're welcome, Aang!", she answered quietly, even though he couldn't hear her. She looked at him for a while. Then she added softly: "That's what friends do, right?".

* * *

 **Quick Note:**

 **The next chapters may take a while longer to write, as I have started university, and will be quite buisy. Furthermore, I had some interesting ideas for Toph and Aang's relationship, so I might take some time to figure out where I am going with this. I have worked some of these ideas into this chapter already. I still feel like their talk lacks something, but for now, I really wanted to post this, so here it is. Hope I got the two (and the rest of the team) right.**


	11. Chapter 10: Good Morning

**Hey, long time no see. I re-read some of the earlier chapters, and some of it didn't read that well, so I've taken a little more time with this one. I'd just quickly like to ask for some comments, on this chapter specifically. It's hard to give a critical evaluation of your own writing.**

 **Anyway, on to the thing. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Good morning**

 _Ouch._

Aang drifted out of his exhaustion-induced sleep and gradually became aware of his surroundings. The first thing he noticed was that every bone in his body seemed to be telling him they needed a break; a long one, preferably. He had forgotten how much earthbending could hurt. Secondly, he realized that he was lying on a hard stone bed. Adding to that came the realization that this wasn't very comfortable, so he swung his legs over the edge, only to immediately regret his decision as his body sharply protested against the sudden movement. He remained still for a few seconds and slipped into the slow breathing rhythm he used for meditation. Slowly, the dull ache receded a bit, until he finally felt comfortable enough to stand up. He gritted his teeth: that his bones didn't audibly creak when he moved was all. _How about we avoid stupid comments around earthbenders for a while?_ his hurting shoulder suggested. _Will certainly do,_ his head replied. _Speaking of…_

Fourth realization: the girl responsible for his misery was nowhere in sight. Not that this sight reached very far, mind you, given that the room he was in was barely cupboard-sized, but he had kind of expected to be woken by a punch to the shoulder, or at the very least a loud shout into his ear. Maybe Toph had decided to go easy on him for the time being- Aang snorted at the thought: _Yeah. Not likely._

His musings were interrupted by a very loud and very insistent growling from his stomach, and it suddenly dawned on him that he had last eaten the morning two days ago. What time was it, anyway? He couldn't tell how long he had slept. However long it had been, now he was wide awake. And hungry. Aang decided to first of all pay the kitchens a visit, and then look for his friends. Who knew; knowing Sokka and Toph, those two things might even fall together.

With this resolution, he left his room and made his way down the corridor, trying to determine where he even was. He knew the palace well enough; if his memory served him right, he was in the guest's quarters, close to the dining room. Toph had apparently carried him all the way up to the ground floor before dumping him into that bed. Just adding to the growing list of favors he owed her: _Damn, I'll have to come up with something pretty grand to repay her…_

Judging by the sun beams shining through the windows, it was still early morning. He hadn't missed much. Meaning the others were probably having breakfast in the dining room, so he changed course there. Hopefully they hadn't worried about his absence.

When he walked into the room he saw two lonely figures sitting at the giant table. One of them raised his head at Aang's entrance and smiled when he saw the airbender: "Hey, buddy, good morning! Long time no see!" he called. He looked Aang up and down: "Wow, and I thought I look bad in the morning…"

Aang grinned tiredly. He didn't have the energy to come up with a smart retort. "Hey, Sokka. You wouldn't happen to have left some breakfast for me?

Sokka gave the remains on the table a critical look, and then shrugged: "Suit yourself."

Suki looked him over closely as he sat down. "I'm gonna take a wild guess and say you found her." she commented, indicating his multiple bruises.

Aang nodded absently, occupied with attacking a bread roll.

Suki was looking at him expectantly: "And? How are you doing?" It was clear she didn't mean his physical condition.

Between bites, his lips curved into an optimistic smile: "Okay, I think."

Sokka looked from on to the other: "Who are we talking about right now?"

"Well, Toph. She…" The airbender paused, somewhat taken aback. "Did you not catch anything of what happened?"

The warrior frowned: "I was kind of out of commission for most of the day. Driving your bison is really tiring, you know? Katara was worrying all the time, I had a conversation with Bumi and Toph was being an ass, as usual. That's about all I got from yesterday." He rubbed his temple, where a faint bruise was visible: "And my head still hurts for some reason!"

"I keep telling you, alcohol is bad for you." Suki commented innocently.

"I told you, I didn't even drink that much." he grumbled.

"You sure? I recall you having some pretty interesting ideas regarding arrows…"

"Ahem, äh- So, Aang; what was that about Toph? What did I miss?"

Aang raised his eyebrows: "I kind of had a little row with her." he told a strangely embarrassed looking Sokka. "I said something stupid, she got angry and went and demolished a cave, and I tried to say sorry."

"And then she demolished you." Sokka stated. That was how that normally went.

"More or less." Aang confirmed. "But in a friendly way, I think."

"She hurt you. In a friendly way." Suki didn't bother hiding her skepticism.

The airbender laughed: "That's how she shows affection."

Sokka grinned and rubbed his behind: "Boy, doesn't it feel good that she likes us so much? I mean, really, what would we do without those daily signs of affection?"

Aang opened his mouth for an answer, before a surprised call interrupted their banter: "Aang?!"

Sokka rolled his eyes: "Speaking of affection…"

Aang barely had time to turn around before Katara was standing over him. "Where have you been? I've been looking for you everywhere, and you; you just nonchalantly sit here, eating!" Her hands were at her hips, but the scolding pose was hard to take seriously with the joyous relief written on her face.

Aang gave her an apologetic shrug: "I was hungry?" he tried to explain, raising an apple in his defense.

It earned him a hard nudge. Katara shook her head in indignation: "Nice to see you have priorities, Avatar." she scolded him. The critical look didn't last long as a grin appeared on her face: "I'm glad you're back. Did you find her?"

Aang was about to answer that in the affirmative, before she finally noticed the bruises on his arm. Instantly, she went from scolding into protective mode and knelt down to examine him: "What happened? Are you alright? You look beaten up…"

Aang placed a hand over hers. He certainly didn't mind her attention, but it wasn't really worth the fuss: "Nothing to worry, Katara, really. I just had a friendly little earthbending match with Toph." He decided to leave out the details.

Katara raised an eyebrow; clearly questioning the 'friendly'. "Are you sure…"

"Jesus, Katara, he's fine!" Sokka interrupted the overly caring demeanour next to him. "A little bruising just comes with bending matches, you know?"

The waterbender wasn't deterred: "Says the non-bender; are you the expert on that now? And besides, Aang and I never hurt each other during sparring!"

Sokka snorted: "Yeah, because you two romantics go easy on each other."

Katara exchanged a quick look with Aang, and then stood and crossed her arms: "We don't 'go easy on each other'!" she said indignantly. Aang looked at her before quickly agreeing: "Right; it's just that—that—we are good at what we do!"

Sokka turned towards Suki, who returned his sceptical expression, before both turned their attention back to their food, without even bothering with a comment to that.

Aang could _feel_ the seething look the two occupied warriors received. He felt a sharp tug at his sleeve: "Waterbending match later!" Katara growled, determination on her face, before she sat down with the other two. Aang's surprised look followed. _From treating me one second to wanting to hit me the next. I'm definitely doing something wrong_. At least this time he wasn't exactly the one responsible, he thought as he watched his girlfriend give her brother a vocal lecture on the nature of waterbending, becoming more insistent every time he dismissed it as pretence.

It was ludicrous, of course. Him and Katara always gave everything they got; it was just that with both of them being masters of redirecting attacks, their fights would always end in a stalemate. It had absolutely nothing to do with them liking each other.

Still, the airbender was beginning to get slightly terrified of what she would unleash on him later if Sokka kept going like this. His cynicism was riling her up that was plain to see. And she _could_ get pretty overwhelming when she wanted to prove a point. If she wanted to go through with this—which, from her clenched teeth, it looked like she did—he was in for a hard time.

He couldn't help but smile in anticipation.

Katara was at the point where she was just ignoring her brother now, and she noticed his expression. She read it right: "Don't get too happy." she warned him. "Maybe I _won't_ go easy on you this time!"

"Oh yeah?" he shot back. "Who says _I_ will?"

They grinned at each other invitingly, completely missing Sokka's triumphant look to his girlfriend. He leaned closer to Aang: "You are terrible at being a pacifist, you know that?" he whispered. "World peace? No problem. Avoiding a fight with your own friends? Total impossibility!"

Aang raised an amused eyebrow: "Are you offering, too, Sokka?"

He shook his head: "I'll be content with sitting back and enjoying the show, buddy. If I couldn't get to see you fight Toph, you owe me another awesome bending battle." He inspected him critically. "I think my money is on my sister, by the looks of you." he added.

"By rights Katara should give him a little healing session first." Suki spoilt his betting. "As it stands now, our grumpy friend has practically won your fight for you, Katara."

The waterbender had no objections: "Sure, why not. Wouldn't want you to call cheating, right?" she winked at Aang.

"Where is Toph, anyway?" Aang asked. "Has she not turned up yet?"

Suki looked around and shrugged: "If she came back with you, she'll show sooner or later. You know her, she likes to oversleep. I'll certainly not be the one to search for her and wake her up. You?"

Nobody volunteered. Toph's grumpiness in the morning was legendary. She would turn up in her own time, everyone agreed.

While Katara and Aang finished their breakfast (occasionally having to defend it from Sokka), Suki leant back in her chair and twirled absentmindedly with a fan she had produced from somewhere. "I have to say; this is nice. No nagging earthbenders, no joking firebenders, no crazy kings and just a little bit of peace and quiet. I don't think we had this since we left Kyoshi." she said, nudging her boyfriend.

She earned general agreement from around the table. Something was nagging at Aang's mind at her words, but he couldn't quite place it.

"That reminds me." Sokka said suddenly, turning towards Aang. "You should use the quiet to start thinking about excuses to tell Zuko when we come back. The poor guy was heartbroken when you just flew off. He almost didn't let us go after you for fear of being left alone with all those doofuses." He shook his head tragically: "Can't say I blame him."

Aang cursed under his breath. _Damn, the meeting, right._ Yet another thing he had completely disregarded over the last few hours. It would have to be a pretty big excuse. Spirits knew, he had completely forgotten about it after his awful talk with Katara. He looked around: "Me leaving hasn't caused him any trouble, has it?"

Katara gave her brother a smack across the head. "Of course not; this idiot is exaggerating as always. Zuko can handle that by himself. They'll be a little surprised that the Avatar isn't attending, but they'll get over it." She leant back in her chair and gave a relaxed sigh: "Honestly, I'm kind of glad you left. I'd say you, and all of us, have earned a little downtime."

Aang could agree with that. Still…"Damn it, Zuko and I had planned to welcome the delegations together, to soften them up a bit. I hope he can bring them around without me. Especially Arnook's people would have needed some sweet talking…"

Sokka snorted: "Oh, I can confirm that; those northern guys arrived just about when you left." He gave Aang a somewhat indignant look: "I get the feeling that Arnook is deliberately sending his snobbiest advisors to these meetings. Seriously; those guys are absolute pricks! Dad and I even prepared our homemade sea prune-stew to make them feel at home, and do you know what they said?!" He mimicked in an overly posh voice: " _Hmm, I didn't expect to eat so well here. It has a flavor of smoked sole, but I'm sure you did your best."_ Sokka slumped back in his chair. "Sole!" he muttered, looking almost comically hurt.

Aang sighed and nodded tiredly: "Yep, Arnook still holds a grudge against the Fire Nation; and I think those guys are his way of letting them know. I keep telling him to go and meet Zuko in person, but so far he's ignoring me." A frown appeared on his face: "Shit, now I _really_ feel bad that we left Zuko and your father alone with them…"

"Don't worry about it; it's not as bad as it sounds." Katara reassured him. "Zuko is taking it with humor; he just seemed pretty amused at their antics. He has really learned a thing or two from Uncle Iroh. And dad eats those Northerners for breakfast. We are really not needed there."

Aang still wasn't reassured. "Still, I should have been there, this is an important agreement, and…"

"So was the one on the eastern provinces, and the trade deal between Kuei and Bumi before that." she interrupted him, rolling her eyes. "Seriously, Aang, you need to relax for once. You don't have to be present for every single diplomatic quarrel, that's not your job!"

"I don't know", Sokka said thoughtfully, "I got the feeling that those guys would have been pretty lost without us. Remember when Bumi offered Kuei access to his cabbage market as a gesture of goodwill, and Kuei didn't talk to him for days 'cause he thought he was making fun of him?"

Suki nodded affirmatively: "How could I ever forget that; that was an awful lot of shouting. I'm with him. Don't you sometimes get the feeling like _they_ are the children? I've only been to a handful of meetings, and I had to shout 'Start acting your age!' more often than during training classes in Kyoshi!"

Aang grinned: "That's diplomatic business for you. Sometimes they just need to be reminded that they are talking _with_ each other, not _against_ each other." He spread his arms: "So, who better to do that than the universal bridge between the worlds!" he called, and put on his best dignified-Avatar-face.

Katara gave him a nudge to the shoulder: "Okay, calm down great bridge guy! Actually think about this for a second: Your mental health aside, spending the rest of your life settling tiny disputes doesn't sound like fun to me. It's downright idiotic." She stopped when she saw Aang's eyes light up. "And that's _not_ a reason to do it!" she added hastily.

Aang grinned and winked at her: "So far, idiotic has worked out pretty well for me, hasn't it?" He smiled slyly: "And if your theory about combined idiotism is correct, I might just be perfect for politics!"

Katara rolled her eyes at her friend and drenched him with his own tea. "Stop using my words against me! I'm trying to ease your stress here, and you just jump right back in!" she complained, trying her hardest not to grin.

Aang, still dripping, gave her an apologetic smile. His looked at her very sincerely: "Actually, my stress is already gone. Just that you are here is enough for that." he said and indicated a slight bow of his head: "You're healing powers still amaze me to this day".

Katara had a retort already on her lips, but when she took a look at her friend, she realized that he wasn't just making a joke. He had that dreamy, happy look in his eyes that she often caught him with. A warm feeling spread through her chest. She leaned in closer: "I'm just lucky to have a very compliant patient." she whispered. She ran her hand across his cheek, then closed her eyes and pressed a kiss to his lips.

Sokka shivered and was about to let out a noise of disgust, but before he had the chance, his girlfriend's hand was on his mouth. She knew this routine well enough by now. He let out a muffled protest, but Suki gave him a reprimanding glare, and he groaned, resigned. He opted to just put his fingers into his ears and stare up at the ceiling.

Reluctantly, the kiss ended. "I missed this!" a grinning Aang confessed to a just as happy looking Katara.

Suki coughed meaningfully: "Obviously."

The two teens blushed. "Well, I mean, it's not just _that_ , I mean all of you, together like this, and…" Aang stammered.

Suki chuckled and waved it off. "Feeling's mutual. Well, obviously not quite as mutual as you two, but you get my point." she added. She looked nostalgic for a moment: "When was the last time that we…"

"Are they done yet?" Sokka broke in, finally lifting his hands from his ears, but still refusing to look away from the ceiling.

For a moment Katara honestly considered going back to kissing just to spite him. She had given up hope that he would ever stop with these antics and grow up. "You can peek now, big warrior; you're safe!" she chided him.

"Confirm?" Sokka whispered sideways to his girlfriend.

She rolled her eyes at the two lovebirds: "You're all clear."

"Thank goodness." Sokka muttered, finally lowering his head. "Can't we just get a little tent for you for whenever you feel like giving me the _oogies_?"

The retort was already on Katara's lips, but Aang was faster: "Or I could make you a sign saying: 'Warning: Creeped out! Cease any movement!' Would that be appropriate?" the airbender asked with a wink.

Sokka stared at him: "Were you just sarcastic? Bloody hell, I think you were! You've definitely spent too much time with my sister for her to corrupt you like that!"

"Or maybe," Katara replied, demonstratively snuggling closer to the airbender, "it's just the natural response to your mature behavior!"

Sokka looked to Suki for support, but didn't find any: "And what are you grinning at?!"

"Just you guys! I could sit here all day and watch the spectacle!"

"Traitor." Sokka mumbled into his barely existent beard.

"Just being honest. I was just thinking how nice it is to have all of us together again." She turned to the 'corrupted' airbender: "You were right, Aang; I missed this too. If it were up to me, we could stay here a while longer."

"Hey, it _is_ up to us!" Sokka insisted. "We don't have anything urgent to take care of, do we? No one is forcing us to leave. Besides, I kind of like this place, even despite the fact that I've spent most of my time unconscious."

Aang's face lit up: "I'm sure Bumi wouldn't mind if we stayed a while longer…"

Katara mirrored his enthusiasm: "Sounds great, but I've got a better idea: How about we go on a field trip again, just our little group; like old times?" she suggested. "Not that I don't enjoy Bumi's company," (that claim caused multiple raised eyebrows) "but I think staying here could be a little taxing in the long run."

The Kyoshi Warrior looked skeptical: "With 'old times' you mean that week we spent on Ember Island, right before the comet? Cause as far as I remember, the biggest 'field trip' we did was go down to the beach and hang around all day."

Sokka shook his head: "No, she means like that trip into the desert to find the library, or when we went to Ba Sing Se for the first time, or when Aang was going to school…" He had gotten a little carried away in his nostalgia, but a sideways glance at his girlfriend, who had her arms crossed, made him instantly stop.

"Oh, yes, of course, that library was quite something, wasn't it! And wasn't that school business just hilarious? Man, silly me, how could I forget?!"

Katara scratched her head: "Come on, we did plenty of stuff together after the comet! What about when we visited you in Kyoshi, and you took us koyfish-riding?"

Suki broke into an amused smile: "Yes, that was fun. You know, for people who lived their entire life surrounded by water, I thought you'd be better at…"

Aang broke in: " _You_ guys were koyfish riding?! When?"

"A few months ago. You were away on important 'Avatar business', if I recall correctly." Katara replied. "You weren't kidding, by the way, that _is_ quite fun."

"Yeah, it is. I'd hoped we would do that together." the airbender muttered quietly.

"Hey, nothing stops us from doing it again! And besides, just a few days later we flew over the northern mountains on Appa, remember?" Katara reminded him. "That was truly an experience, and you were smiling all the way back!"

"You weren't too unhappy either!" The airbender smiled at the memory. It had been breathtaking, to be sure. "But that was seven months ago! Since then I have hardly flown with you at all."

"And I wasn't there, thank you very much." Sokka grumbled. "No one cares if Sokka wants to see some mountaintops; no, he has to stay with Gran and go ice-fishing." He grimaced at his sister: "I still hate you for that."

"It was your idea!"

"You tricked me into saying that while she was in earshot! I wasn't being serious! Have you any idea how _cold_ you feel after hours of sitting on a floe waiting for something to happen?"

"Fortunately, no." she grinned at him.

"Schemer." he muttered into his chin stubble. "No free time with the group for me, it seems, just whenever some agreement needs preparing, then we're all a big family."

Suki opened her mouth, then closed it and thought for a moment. "You know what; you're kind of right, actually. The last time we were all just hanging out was- on the last Avatar Day, wasn't it?" she asked, uncertain.

Aang frowned: "I think so. And then Toph and Zuko weren't there; they were busy in Ba Sing Sei. The last time Zuko was with us- ahm…" He trailed off when he found that he didn't know.

The group looked at each other uncomfortably. Sokka broke the silence: "Did we seriously not come together for _anything_ fun in so long?" he asked what everybody was thinking.

"Are we seriously saying that all of us only ever come together for these official meetings?" Katara added, unbelieving.

"I guess we are." Suki confirmed. "Wow; that is sad!"

"That's ridiculous!" Aang added.

"That's unacceptable!" Sokka called, jumping up from his seat. He raised his hand theatrically: "I propose a break from anything world-related until we get a much needed get-together! Screw all meetings and trade deals; we need a long field trip! Oh, and a feast; to celebrate friendship." he added, almost as an afterthought.

Katara nodded slowly: "I can't believe I'm saying this; but you are making sense, big brother." She looked meaningfully at Aang: "The world can handle itself for a few weeks- or months, really…"

"And when we'd come back from the holiday," Suki joined in eagerly, "everybody would beg us to help out, instead of taking our assistance for granted. It will be utter chaos while we're gone!" She nudged her boyfriend: "Your head _is_ good for something, after all."

Aang raised a hand in objection, having just had a thought: "You know I'm all about field trips. But before we do that, Bumi wanted to throw a feast. With some special guests." he added, his voice filled with obvious anticipation.

The three of them eyed him curiously. "And what 'special guests' might those be to get you so exited?" Katara asked him.

When the airbender answered, she was surprised to see mischief sparkling in his eyes: "You'll find out when they're here. But I can almost guarantee that you'll like them." He slapped his forehead: "Damn, I still need to write those invitations!"

Sokka leaned over to Suki: "Ok, new mission: Find out what he is up to; he is freaking me out!" he whispered. Suki rolled her eyes: "You call that a mission?" she asked sarcastically. "You know how terrible a liar he is, this won't take a day, I guarantee it." She gave him a teasing smile: "And if not, I'm sure your sister has her ways of getting it out of him…"

Sokka gave another disgusted grunt. "You just love making me uncomfortable, don't you?"

Meanwhile, the unwitting target of their new mission had completely ignored their exchange and was already making plans. He had just gotten an idea: "And by the time Bumi's feast is done, Zuko will be done with his talks and him and Mai can join us for the holiday, too!" He jumped into the air enthusiastically: "The whole team back together!"

Suki couldn't help but smile. "I hate to spoil it for you, but if we want those two to come along, we'll need to postpone the trip. I think Zuko would love to escape with us for a while, but I fear _something_ will hold him in the Fire Nation a little longer..."

Aang interrupted his jumping and raised his eyebrows in a silent question.

The Kyoshi warrior seemed to be bursting with the news she wanted to tell him, but Sokka beat her to it: "You remember that we didn't see Mai the entire time we were there? Well, turns out she had her reasons…" He paused dramatically.

The airbender sighed: "Come on, guys, don't make me beg for every scrap of information!"

"Well, apparently she was - a little fatter than usual. Has been for some time, I think." he added. Katara gave him a scolding look, but a quiet smile quickly overtook her features.

Aang frowned. "And that's why she wouldn't see us? Come on, it's _Mai_ , she doesn't care what we think of...oooooohhhhhhhh!"

"My, my, you're slow." Sokka commented, trying not to laugh at the embarrassment on the young monk's face. "I think your age is catching up to you".

"H-how long?" Aang managed between coughs.

Sokka just grinned: "From the panicked look on Zuko's face, I guess it can't be too long before it comes." He smiled dreamily. "Maybe, once we come back to the palace, there'll be a little bundle calling me 'Uncle Sokka'."

"Newborns don't talk, dunderhead", Suki explained, interrupting his daydreaming. "And even if they did you wouldn't know, you would faint at the first sight of it!" she added mockingly.

Sokka flushed. "That happened only that one time, woman! I have seen many babies since then, without fainting! I can handle a small human just like a big one, no problem."

"Good," Suki smirked, "because I wanted to tell you for a while now that I'm pregnant, but it never seemed like the right time, so thanks for confirming, that..."

Sokka made an indefinable noise and jerked up from his chair, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets as he stared at his girlfriend. His mouth opened and closed, but no sounds were coming out. He raised a hand in what seemed to be a sign of protest. Then his eyes suddenly rolled upwards and he toppled over.

Katara's and Aang's shocked glances turned from the unconscious Sokka to Suki, and back, both unable to say anything.

Aang really didn't think he could handle any more shocking revelations about his friends in so short a time. What was next? Toph storming in to announce that she was a sky bison? That would have been slightly less shocking than what he had just heard.

But before he and Katara could make up their minds how they felt about this, Suki began to tremble, fighting to keep a straight face, but rapidly losing that battle. She giggled, suppressed at first, and then louder, before long, she was roaring with laughter. Aang shot Katara a dumbfounded look, and she replied with a puzzled shrug that said: _I have no idea._

A few minutes passed before Suki had calmed down sufficiently to talk, even then it was interrupted by burst of laughter. "I'm so sorry!" she managed, but another burst of laughter gave the lie to that statement. "I just _had_ to do that! Did you see his reaction?! And your _faces_..." she giggled again.

Aang put two and two together: "You don't have a...baby...then?" he tried to confirm. Suki shook her head, her eyes glinting in amusement. Katara stared at her, completely in shock. She couldn't believe that Suki would joke about something like this. She looked to Aang, and saw that he seemed to be just as stunned as she was. Then, suddenly, the airbender snorted. "Dirty. That's _really_ dirty!" he commented, but now he was laughing, with Suki joining in. Katara tried to maintain a scolding face, but she could feel her face slipping, and soon she was laughing as loudly as they were. Their laughter rang through the hall, probably waking every person in the palace.

Finally, Katara recovered sufficiently to look for her brother, who was still lying on the floor. "What do we do with him now?" she asked, feeling a little guilty, but only a little.

"Well, I heard that he doesn't like my fans, so I sadly can't help him."

Aang, with a mischievous glint in his eyes, contributed: "I know where Bumi keeps his ice water; it works wonders in cases like this. Trust me, I speak from experience."

His friends looked at him curiously, but their broad grins indicated approval. "And there's always the option to make the water a little colder still..." Katara pondered, an evil grin passing across her face.

Suki crossed her arms: "My, my, you two are evil! But I guess I can't really throw the first stone here, seeing how he's lying there because of me. Fine, do your thing." She frowned: "I almost hate to disappoint him when he wakes up. He's gonna kill me when he finds out that I was just teasing him."

"Then why should we disappoint him?" Aang asked, suddenly feeling devious. "You know, we could pretend like you were serious. I mean, imagine the possibilities..." The airbender could only imagine how the subsequent conversation would go. _This is bound to be hilarious,_ he thought, briefly wondering when he had adopted such a manipulative attitude. But from the looks on his friend's faces, he could tell they were not at all opposed to the idea.

Suki stroked her chin thoughtfully: "You know that will never work…"

"That's decided then!" Katara decided for them, already on her way: "I get the water, you two come up with a story to convince him that he's going to be a father!" she called as she ran through the door. As soon as she was out of view, the two could hear her enthusiastic laughter.

"I can't remember her ever being so – mischievous." Suki commented after a surprised silence. Aang grinned. He didn't either, but he liked her attitude. This had something liberating. It was certainly better than playing serious Avatar and strict Water Tribe negotiator.

"Nor you for that matter!" the Kyoshi Warrior added. She eyed him critically: "I think we're having a bad influence on you."

"Maybe. I'm not complaining though." His bruises were completely forgotten and he was in fact feeling more alive than he had in weeks. "Sokka was right; it's been far too long since we had some silly downtime together."

Her look went to the unconscious boy on the floor. "I doubt this is what he had in mind. And I wouldn't be so enthusiastic if I were you; you know he's not gonna fall for it. _I_ can pull that pretense off straight-faced, but you two are terrible liars!"

The airbender gave a completely un-avatarly smirk: "True, but I doubt Katara and I will be his focus when he wakes up, don't you think?"

That was true as well. "Good point." Suki considered for a moment: "In that case, I give us 30 seconds before he either calls us out or we lose it."

"You should have more faith in our abilities! I say two minutes plus!"

"Always the optimist." She gave him a little nudge: "You'd best get into character then, if you really want it to last. Cause the way you are grinning right now, you won't keep the charade alive for two seconds."

Aang instantly assumed an expressionless face. "Right. How about this?"

Suki raised an eyebrow: "Not bad. But I hate to tell you, that looks even more suspicious."

The mask relaxed back into a half-grin. "I'll just be overjoyed that we'll soon have a new member on the team, then." A short pause, followed by a bright smile: "And that I don't even have to act; I'll only have to think of Zuko and Mai."

The Kyoshi Warrior gave a genuine smile: "Yeah." For a few moments, none of them said anything, as they thought of the moment when they would welcome their friends' child into their round. This still felt so new and surreal, but most of all they felt happy for the pair. They couldn't deny a kind of giddy excitement at the thought of a mini-Zuko (and a certain dread at the prospect of a mini-Mai).

Aang snorted suddenly: "Now I'm already thinking of baby names. Is that appropriate for an uncle-to-be?"

Suki laughed, thinking he was referring to their present plot: "I don't know; I have as much experience with this as you do." She patted her stomach: "Maybe… offer to take our 'little one' flying from time to time? That should be a thing for an airbender-uncle, right?"

"That's a good idea! I..." Aang paused when he noticed her motion, and what she was referring to. After a while he asked: "I was just thinking; do you think Zuko would let me do that, you know, with his child? Not immediately, of course, but I'd love to show the little guy- or girl- the world from above, what that's like."

The Kyoshi Warrior smiled warmly: "I'm sure he would. He trusts you, and who would deny somebody that experience?"

Aang leant back in his chair and smiled up at the ceiling. He always felt at peace when he was just flying, and to share that feeling with someone was something that made him strangely happy when looking forward to it. It still gave him a slight jolt of pain whenever he remembered that besides Appa and Momo, there was no one left who could experience it quite the same way he did. _Gliding is one thing, real flying another_. The airbender returned his gaze to the earth, wanting to voice his thoughts to Suki.

The Kyoshi Warrior looked lost in thought. _Really_ , lost in thought. Aang blinked. He couldn't remember ever seeing that look on her. He gave her a nudge: "Suki?"

She instantly snapped out of it: "Ah, nothing. It's just that, sometimes I wish I could do that, too."

"Do what?"

She looked slightly embarrassed: "You know, flying. Don't get me wrong; I love Appa, but from the way you talk about it, flying by yourself is just something different. I just thought how it would be to be able to do that."

Aang looked at her in astonishment: "Really?!" She had never spoken of this before.

She nodded, a little subdued: "I didn't really think about it too much, until I saw you at that festival last year. You just looked so- carefree, flying above everyone. I can't explain it, but in that moment I wanted to be up there, too." She seemed to shrug it off: "I've thought about it sometimes since."

A smile stole on the airbender's face: "You say that as if it were impossible, but it's really not. If you want to, we'll find a way to get you flying! We could try building you a frame, like the ones Theo and the others use."

Suki's eyes had grown a little bigger with every word. "But… I couldn't fly like that! You need something for that, right?"

"Something…?"

"Like; something of an airbender-thing that normal people just don't have?"

That sounded like a misunderstood version of Spirit. "Where did you get that idea?"

The sudden turn to Sokka, eyes blazing, was answer enough.

Aang groaned and slapped his forehead. That was what you got when a scientific mindset tried to explain something spiritual. He should have known. "It's not quite like that." he tried to explain. "Anyone can have this 'something'. Katara tried out a glider once, quite successfully. I'm sure you could, too."

Suki was still skeptical: "But how do I know if I have this something?"

He gave her a nudge: "You find out by trying."

"That's encouraging." Her eyes suddenly lit up: "How do I get one of those gliders?"

Aang grinned at the unveiled enthusiasm. _Spirit found_.

Suki noticed: "I mean, I _could_ try it out I suppose." Her straight face was not very convincing, and after a moment she gave up: "Alright, I want to, damn it!" She squeezed his hand, a surprisingly tender look in her eyes: "Thanks Aang. Really, thanks."

He blushed slightly: "No problem, soon-to-be-flyer." A thought popped into his head: "Hmm, we could just as well add a few flying lessons to our field trip, no? What do you think?"

The sarcastic glimmer re-entered her eyes: "We'll see about that, airhead." She looked to the unconscious Sokka: "I highly doubt you'll get him on board for that."

Before Aang could reply, Katara entered the hall, holding up two impressive spheres of water. She looked far too happy for someone plotting against their own brother. "I'm ready." she informed them somewhat unnecessarily.

Aang scratched his head and glanced to Suki: "Yeah, right. What do we tell him, now?"

She shrugged: "Just improvise. With a little luck, he'll still be too shocked to notice anything."

"Alright then. Improvising is our specialty."

Katara raised an eyebrow, but was clearly too eager to get started to raise objections. She positioned herself with the spheres over her brother. Her eyes sparkled at her fellow conspirators. "This is going to be _very_ nice." she stated. Then she dropped the freezing water.

The affect was instantaneous: With a gasp, the father-to-be jerked up, wide-eyed and sputtering. He looked around disoriented. "What…?!" was all he managed to voice.

"Welcome back to the living, brother."

Sokka looked up at her in complete confusion. Then his teeth began to chatter: "C- cold." His look was still rather uncomprehending. "What…what happened?!" He glanced down at himself: "Why am I wet?"

"You went unconscious." Suki stepped in matter-of-factly.

"We had to take emergency measures." Aang added.

Sokka groaned. "Why am I always getting drenched?! It's not funny." He shot a puzzled look at his girlfriend: "I imagined something really weird. For a moment I could have sworn you said…"

He trailed off when Suki gave a confirming nod.

For a few seconds, his face remained completely blank as he stared at her pointedly excited expression. The moment drew out long enough for Aang to start thinking he was not buying it. Then his friend's jaw dropped suddenly.

Suki quickly grabbed him before he could fall over again. "Look, I understand you can't quite grasp our luck yet, but that's no reason to pass out." She looked him deep in the eye: "I'm happy, too!" she said very sincerely.

"Yeah, Sokka, quit standing there like an ice block; you're a father!" Aang exclaimed, throwing an arm over his friend's shoulder. He made his best pleading grin: "Can I take the little one for a flight once he's here?"

Behind their backs, Katara suppressed a laugh. It was wave after wave of shockers, and her brother was not taking it very well: His eyes flicked back and forth between Aang and Suki, his mouth was opening and closing like a fish on dry land. It was almost adorable.

She helpfully stepped up and placed a steadying hand on his shoulder: "Sorry for these two; I _told_ them we shouldn't just jump you out of the blue with this. Must be a bit much to take in, ey?" Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Aang quickly turning his face away and making a muffled noise.

Luckily, Sokka hadn't noticed; he was far too distracted at the moment. His mind was apparently only slowly coming to terms with the situation. "But- but," he stammered, "why... _how_ did this happen?!" He looked completely lost.

The group exchanged a glance. Katara crossed her arms. "I think _you_ would know that better than we do, big brother, don't you think?" she pointed out. It took all their restraint to keep a straight face.

They watched Sokka turn a deep shade of red, his eyes darting do every object in the room, everywhere but his friends' faces. Which was a good thing; otherwise, he would have noticed their turmoil as they tried to keep from laughing.

Finally, his eyes caught Suki's again. He pointed a shaking finger at her: "So you really are…? So I really am…?" Suddenly the words flowed out of him: "I don't… what do we do with… Why didn't you tell me _sooner_?! Wait, did you all know…? Stop grinning! This is- wow, I… ahm, can't you- hold it back or something? I need to think. Katara, you know how to deal with this, right? Good, ahm, yes, right, where do…?"

He seemed to be nowhere near done with his tirade when the earth beneath his feet suddenly shifted and he lost his balance, almost stumbling into Aang in the process.

"What _in the world_ are you babbling on about?" an irritated voice came from the doorway.

* * *

 **On a small side-note: The little conversation between Aang and Suki started out as simple filler, but I have to say that it is now actually one of my favorite parts of this chapter. I really want to develop this further, I just don't know if it'll fit into this arc.**


End file.
